Burning Candles
by x Such Great Heights x
Summary: [Set during Twilight] Curious because of Edward’s strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and to also pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though. Chapter 8 finally up!
1. Chapter 1: Deathbed

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

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**Chapter 1: Deathbed**

Edward Cullen was a strange character.

Not only was he strange, but he was also disturbing. Just the thought of being next to me repulsed him so much that he didn't even want to be in the same _class_ as me. Was I that bad? I thought that I was just a normal girl, but Edward made sure to give me the memo that I was not a _normal_ girl at all. I was so repulsive that he couldn't even be near me. Uh-huh, that's how bad it was. I walked into the biology room and noticed that Edward was sitting as far away as possible again. _Great_, I muttered to myself in my mind, _he hates me and this is going to be another fun class_! I tried to stay positive, but it was impossible if you were sitting next to somebody that hated your guts for no reason.

"Bella!" Mike Newton greeted me and I smiled, turning away from Edward so that I didn't have to watch him be repulsed at me. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me after school." Mike said quickly and I nodded, thinking this over.

"Sorry Mike today's not really a good day for me. Maybe some other day?" I lied through my clenched teeth. Mike was not really—uh—my taste.

Mike didn't seem to mind though. "That's alright, another day for sure." He waved and moved to his seat.

I breathed out in relief, forgetting that Edward was still sitting next to me. The thoughts were rushing through my mind and I wondered what I had just gotten myself in too. Oh well, Mike wasn't that bad for a _guy_, but he certainly was not a potential boyfriend or anything like that. Sorry to get your hopes or anything like that, but Mike would just be always Mike. I glared at the clock, waiting for this block to be over since Edward was still not talking to me and the teacher was as boring as ever. Finally, when the bell did ring, I shot up from my seat and ran towards the nearest exit, not waiting for Mike or anybody. I was out in the parking lot before anybody else was there. I leaned against my truck, my eyes following the student body as they all walked out towards their own cars. Edward Cullen walked out and slipped into his Volvo before speeding off at an ungodly speed. I turned my head and watched as in seconds, the silver car was out of my sight. The car was gone, just like that. What if he crashed? Why should I car? He was repulsed by me! Mike stalked over to my truck and I glanced up at him and smiled slightly. My eyes were still following the path Edward Cullen's car had taken.

"Hey Bella," he greeted, "you ran out of that room so fast, I thought that Cullen had done something to you. Do you need somebody to take you home?" Mike questioned and I smiled flakily.

Uh… "No thanks Mike, remember I told you that today really wasn't a good day for me." I repeated and Mike nodded. Edward was so strange; I had to figure out why he hated me so much. I had to figure out why I repulsed him so much that he wanted to leave the science class because I repulsed him _that _much! A plan was already forming in my mind; I was going to put the plan in action today. The sooner, the better is the saying that I always hear. "I'm just going to go home Mike, hey, can you tell Jessica to call me if you see her?" I questioned and Mike nodded again, his blue eyes were sparkling. I bit my nip nervously.

"Catch you later Bella!" Mike saluted and I nodded as he walked away.

I hopped into my truck and thought my plan over. I parked my truck in front of my house and walked slowly to the front door, being careful not to trip on anything that would delay my plan. Being a klutz and everything, I had to be careful of _everything_. Charlie wasn't home when I got in, shoot! That was going to delay my plan. Charlie knew where the Cullen family lived, so now what was I supposed to do? The phone! Right, closing the door, I pushed towards the phone. I made sure not to trip over anything because I knew that I was prone to do something like that. I picked up the phone and dialed Charlie's work number. It rung two times before Charlie picked up.

"Chief Swan here," Charlie greeted formally and I was glad he had picked up.

I smiled slightly. "Hey Dad, its Bella."

"Hey Bells! You're back from school early! Is something wrong?" Charlie asked and I shook my head before remembering that Charlie couldn't see me. "Bells, you still there?"

"Uh-huh, sorry about that. Everything is fine. I was wondering if you could give me directions to the Cullen family's house. You see, I met the youngest today and he left something at school and they asked me to return it. Except the problem is, I don't know where he lives." I explained through my clenched teeth. I hated lying, although I was supposedly good at it. "So can you help me?"

Charlie hesitated before saying anything. "Well… I don't want you staying there too long though Bella. They are the kind of family that is a little strange. Five minutes at the latest Bella. Alright, you go down…" He continued to give me the directions to the Cullen household. I drove along the different roads and I was grateful to finally reach the Cullen's house. I stalled my truck as I realized that I was in the driveway. I looked up at the amazing house and gasped. It looked like it was right out of a magazine. It was so wonderful, that I could hardly breathe. I stared in awe until finally; I got the courage to go to the front door. I knocked hesitantly, noting that the silver car was nowhere in sight. The door swung up and I saw a woman of around thirty who was as beautiful as the rest of the family. She had light brown hair that curled beautifully and her eyes were the same color as Edwards. She was in regular clothes, jeans and a t-shirt.

She smiled at me. "Hello there dear!" The woman said cheerfully, I opened my mouth to speak – but I was speechless. Who was this? Another sibling? Wouldn't that be ironic? "Do you need something? Are you lost?"

I couldn't speak. The words were sticking in my throat. She looked at me worriedly. "S-Sorry," I finally managed and the woman nodded, leaning against the door-frame slightly. "I was—um—looking for Edward, is he here?" The woman nodded and pushed the door open for me, letting me into her house. It was amazing and again, I stood speechless. The two spiral stair-cases were unbelievable beautiful and this was just the foyer! She closed the door behind her and I turned to look at her. "You have a beautiful house." I said breathlessly and she laughed.

"Thanks, I'm Esme Cullen by the way," she introduced herself as she led me farther into the amazing house. "I'm Edwards' mother." She explained and I gasped at the comment. Edwards… mother? But she was only around thirty! How could she be a mother of seventeen? Isn't that illegal? She would have been like thirteen when she gave birth to Edward and what about the older kids? As if she had read my thoughts, Esme was explaining herself further. "Don't worry dear! All my kids are adopted."

I sighed in relief and then laughed it off nervously. "Oh, um, well it's nice to meet you Mrs. Cullen." She led me to the dining room and let me sit down at a red-wood chair. It looked vintage.

"You can call me Esme, darling. Sorry about the mess, I wasn't really expecting anybody." I looked around and noticed that there was _no_ mess at all. She must have been joking with me, but she seemed pretty serious. "Edward is actually out right now, but he's due back any moment. So why don't you wait for him…?"

"Isabella." Whoops, I just said my own name wrong. "I mean Bella, Bella Swan."

"Oh!" Esme cooed. "Charlie Swan's daughter! I head that you were coming into town! It's so nice to meet you Bella." She said quickly and I smiled at her cheerfulness, she was so nice! "Well I have some things that I have to attend too, but there are some magazines on the table. Call me if there is anything you need Bella!"

"Thank you." I replied gratefully and she smiled before stalking off to the left doorway.

I still had a chance to get out of this. I could run to the door and then dash towards my truck and nobody would even notice because nobody except for Esme knew that I was here. I stood up to leave, but then sat back down. I was not going to be disgraced by Edward Cullen and I was going to get to the bottom of this. I reached over to the magazines and picked one up, flipping through it. I flipped back to the cover page that read: _'People'._ I was glad that they had some regular people magazines. Charlie had all these weird fishing magazines. I looked at the different pictures of the different celebrities and smiled. They had it so lucky, how I wished that I could be there with them. The house was perfect; I wondered what I was doing here. It was strange, but somehow I felt I was destined to be here. I looked around the house, tearing my gaze from the magazine, going over what I would tell Edward when he appeared. He would probably be so angry to see me here, but I had to do this. He was the one who was making me do this! It was his fault that I was here! I flipped through the pages again, not paying attention anymore. It wasn't until I felt a little jolt of pain on my pointer finger that I realized that I had cut myself. Stupid paper-cut. I stood up, trying to stop the bleeding as I walked towards the left doorway that I had seen Esme disappear into. I heard an unfamiliar voice as I approached the doorway.

"…but what is _she_ doing here?!" It was a girl's voice and as I stalked towards the doorway, I realized that it was the blonde girl from the lunch table. My eyes widened at her beauty. Her hair was perfect, her eyes were the same color as Esmes' and Edwards', and I wondered if everybody else had the same eye color. She was wearing black pants and a loose knit sweater. Her pale skin was so fascinating; it looked like Esmes' and Edwards' again. Okay, now that was weird. "Mom," the beautiful girl groaned. "It's dangerous that she's here! Jasper is going to go _crazy_!" Who was Jasper?

Esme was standing at the counter, completely idle. "Don't worry Rosalie," that was a pretty name. I sighed, a pretty name for a pretty girl. "Emmett has Jasper, correct?"

"Uh-huh, but Mom if something happens, we will all be in a lot of trouble." Rosalie said and her head snapped towards me. My eyes widened even farther when I realized that she was glaring at me. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Not much." I mumbled and stepped into the light. "I actually cut myself on the magazine, Esme do you perhaps have a band-aid?" I questioned and looked down at my hand and then back at Rosalie and Esme. They both looked wide-eyed and panicked. "You guys, it's not that bad actually. It's not even that much blood!" I explained and held up my pointer finger for them to see – a tiny drop of blood feel towards the ground in the process. "Oops!" I exclaimed and bent down to wipe up the blood. Before I knew what was happening, I looked up and saw that Esme and Rosalie did not look so friendly anymore. Suddenly, I was being slammed against the wall, my hair being pushed off of my throat in the process. I looked towards Rosalie and Esme, but they did nothing to move the person off of me. What was happening? A hiss erupted from the silence and then a shooting pain shot through my every limb. I screamed bloody murder, but Rosalie and Esme did nothing. They actually were approaching me. Suddenly, the body was pulled off of me.

"Edward! What do you think you're doing?" A harsh voice questioned as I closed my eyes and fell towards the ground.

**End of Chapter 1: Deathbed**

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**Authors Note: So this is my newest story and I hope that you like it! The summary and all will be explained further and longer chapters will go up when it gets more into the story! WARNING: SOME CHARACTERS ARE OOC! Just a warning, so don't get too worked up about it! Feed-back is very much welcomed!**

**Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2: Forgiven

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

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**Chapter 2: Forgiven**

I awoke with a snap. Was I dead? Was it a dream? Okay, I must have been dead because that all seemed too un-real. What had happened was like a night-mare, so maybe I was just dreaming. I sighed in relief as I realized that I was lying on a bed. Okay, my bed is a good start. It was actually a great start. All that was just a dream, I was just dreaming and none of that happened. I breathed in and placed a hand to my chest. I stopped abruptly as I realized that my heart _was not_ beating. Holy shit! Does that mean I'm dead? Oh my God! I'm dead. Charlie is going to die over this. Oh my…oh my! What am I going to do? Well I can't really do anything now since I'm _dead_!

"Calm down." A cool voice ordered from the corner of the room and I looked around. I hadn't noticed anybody over there before. I looked at a boy that I had never really seen before except once at the lunch table all the Cullens shared…the Cullens? What was one of them doing here? "It's going to be okay Bella now." His voice was cold, but friendly.

"Who are you?" I asked softly.

He moved out of the shadows and smiled icily. "I'm Jasper Cullen. I'm Edward's brother." He replied.

Oh my God! It was all coming back to me now. I had gone over Edward's house to confront him about why he hated me so much and met his mother Esme. I had been reading _'People'_ magazine when I got a paper-cut. I then went go see Esme and over-heard Rosalie and then the blood seeped out of my wound and then… and then, Edward attacked me. I looked over at Jasper and raised my eye-brows in confusion. Why had Edward attacked me in the first place? Was he some kind of super-natural creature? Was that it, huh? I didn't understand and that horrible feeling as something hit my neck. I shivered as I remembered that.

"Uh… Jasper?" He nodded, to show me that he was listening to me. "Why exactly did Edward attack me?"

Jasper flinched, only to regain his composure a couple of seconds later. "I think you need to come with me Bella." He said and stretched out his hand to me. I looked at him for a second and then looked down at my own hand. It was a milky white, the same color as the rest of the Cullens. What was happening? I grabbed Jasper's hand and he led me down the winding stairs. He gripped my hand as we entered the living room and then released my hand, pushing me to sit down on the couch. I looked at him curiously when I noticed the rest of the family was there. Rosalie, Esme, the person who I assumed was Carlisle, the second girl from the lunch table, the third boy from the lunch table, and Edward.

"She's awake." The second girl from the lunch table cooed and stood up and walked towards me. I backed slightly away which only made her laugh. "My name's Alice." She whispered to me and I nodded, the words sticking in my throat. "Bella, you don't have to be scared. There's nothing to be scared _of_."

I wished that I could have believed her, but it was hard. Edward had attacked me. It was hard not to be scared around them. I looked down at my hands and remembered that my skin was whiter and I felt a bit different. "Why am I here?" I finally asked and Alice sat down next to me. "Can I go home now?" I asked stupidly and Alice shook her head sadly.

"Carlisle," Alice whispered, but I could still hear her. I looked towards her and then back at Carlisle who was just the person I assumed he was. Wow, he really did look like a movie star more then a doctor. "How should I explain this to her?" She questioned and Carlisle sighed and stood up.

"Explain what?" I questioned.

"Bella…" Carlisle started, "we're not really what we seem to be."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked and Carlisle stood in front of me. I was not gaining any of this. I really just wanted to go home and sit and ponder over my thoughts. I wondered how long I had been gone from home. "I—um—I really think that I should get home." I said firmly and Carlisle shook his head. "Wait," I said suddenly, "how long have I been out?"

"Three days," Alice replied grimly and I shook my head.

"But what about Charlie?"

"We called him Bella," Carlisle explained. "He knows that something happened, but he just thinks that it was a minor injury. I told him that you would be back sooner then he could imagine. He sounded worried, but he believed me." I nodded at him in disbelief.

"So what _did_ happen to me?" I asked.

"That's what I was getting too." Carlisle stated and I nodded, motioning to him to continue with his theory. "Bella, we're not what we seem to be… we're vampires."

I looked at him in shock. Okay, he was just joking with me right? So I know that they were probably playing some horrible trick on me and all, but like – this was a little too far. I looked at him in disbelief and then I started laughing. "Okay, okay you got me. I know you guys aren't vampires."

"Bella, stop being difficult." Edward piped in. He actually talked to me! I rolled my eyes at him, so now he was finally talking to me. I clenched my hands together and looked up at Carlisle again.

"Seriously, you want me to believe that you guys are _vampires_? That's impossible. Vampires are not even real in this world!" I glared at Edward for awhile until I turned towards Carlisle. They weren't really vampires, were they? But they seemed so serious about it! Was that why they were so weird? Why they didn't hang around – oh my. "You guys are really vampires?" I questioned softly and Carlisle nodded. "No way."

"Yes way." Alice commented and I looked over at her, my mouth twisting in thought.

I pointed towards myself, my new complexion still puzzling me. "Yes, well I believe you, I guess. But what does this have to do with me?" I questioned and Carlisle sat down on the coffee table. I could see Esme fidgeting with her hands and Rosalie was starring blankly ahead of her. The other boy—I had yet to find his name—was looking over at Edward. Edward was starring at me and I glared back for awhile. I was still angry that he had treated me like a piece of dirt the first two days of my stay here.

"Well you see Bella, that day that you came to the house—" Carlisle started, but Alice cut in.

"Bella, Edward bit you." Alice explained simply and I looked at her peculiarly.

I crossed my legs and looked at the whole family. They all said nothing. Edward wasn't even looking at me anymore. "Okay, so Edward bit me. So wouldn't I be dead now?" I asked because it was true. If Edward was a vampire and he had bitten me, that would mean that I would be dead right now, wouldn't I?

"We got him off of you before he could fully kill you Bella." Carlisle explained and I nodded, waiting for this all to sink in and for me to start screaming. It didn't come, I felt completely numb. "We couldn't get the venom out of your blood stream in time Bella, you're a vampire now."

"Oh, um… wait, what was that?" I questioned, hoping and praying that I had misheard him, but he still had that serious look on his face. I turned and glanced at the rest of the family, they were not moving at all. "I'm a… I'm a vampire?!"

"That would be correct Bella." Carlisle said softly.

Oh dear God. Oh my God. Vampires, real life vampires were sitting in front of me and _now_, I was vampire. That was all, it was plain and simple and they thought I was being difficult about it. I sat there fidgeting, trying to keep my thoughts contained, but emotions were burning down my throat and towards my non-beating heart. _Okay Bella, _I chanted to myself mentally, _you can accept this. _"I—I…" I was at a lost for words. "Alright."

"Bella, it's going to be okay—!" Alice started, but stopped short at my answer. "Just like that Bella, you don't even… you don't even care what happened?" She questioned softly and I shook my head.

"I think it just hasn't set in yet." I whispered my voice barely audible.

Alice nodded. "That's totally understandable."

"This is crazy." I scoffed and pressed a hand to my temple and thought for awhile. "What am I supposed to now?"

Carlisle looked at the rest of his family before turning to Edward and turning back to me. "Bella, we all think that it would be best for you to move in with us because of the circumstances. You are a new vampire and your _thirst_ for some things like humans is going to get stronger. It would be best if you were under our supervision until you get the hang of being a vampire." I looked at him as if he was speaking a different language.

"You want me to leave Charlie?" The words fell out of my mouth.

"That would be for the best Bella."

"But—but, he's my father." I argued. "What am I supposed to tell him? That I suddenly got changed into being a vampire on accident and that I'm leaving forever to move in with you guys?!" I questioned fiercely and Carlisle shook his head.

"Not forever Bella, just for now and don't worry I'll talk to Charlie."

I massaged my temples and tried to resist the urge to bang my head multiple times on _something_. This was all making sense, but it was such a big surprise, my mind couldn't grasp the fact of what was happening. "Explain, somebody please explain." I whispered.

Alice took the opportunity to jump into the conversation. "Well you see Bella, we vampires have lived here for a very long time – I'm not going to go into full detail, let's just leave it at a very long time – and we have kept from being discovered for that same time period." I nodded, urging her to continue. "Vampires cannot sleep, age, or really feel pain physically." I cringed at that, so I wouldn't really feel anything? I was going to be seventeen… forever? "The rest of the vampires out there, usually drink human blood." I cringed again. "But our _coven_ that you are going to live with drinks only animal blood. It is inhumane if we drank human blood. We have all been sworn off of it. We would like it if you too Bella would swear off of drinking human blood."

Honestly, the thought of even biting a human made me _very_ sick. It repulsed me to no end. "Absolutely," I said. "No human blood for me _ever_. Can I go live with Charlie now?" I questioned, a little too eager for my own good.

"I'm sorry Bella," Carlisle said again. "It's an instinct for new vampires to drink human blood, your instincts will take over when you get thirsty and you could attack the first person that you see. It would not be a good ending."

I grimaced. "Alright, I'll stay with you guys for now."

"That's great Bella! I am always open to my new siblings!" Alice said happily and clapped her hands together, creating a louder sound then I thought she would. I nodded at her and she smiled again. "You will move in as soon as possible?" She questioned and I paused before nodding my head.

"And when is that?" I asked.

"Now." Edward said, standing up. "I should take you to your house to pack."

"I'll get your new room ready honey." Esme said sweetly and looked towards Rosalie and Alice. "You two will help me, will you not?" She asked and Alice nodded cheerfully, I was already starting to like her, while Rosalie slowly nodded her head. Her attitude towards me hadn't changed at all. Esme gave me a short hug before walking towards the two winding stair cases. Jasper smiled at me before Edward grabbed my roughly on the arm and pulled me towards the door. He opened the passenger door of the car for me and I stepped in. I looked around the clean interior and sighed. Their family _was _perfect. Edward moved into the drivers seat of the car and looked at me.

"Something wrong?" Edward questioned softly and I shook my head.

"I guess not, I just think that the facts haven't sunken in yet." It was the truth, the facts that I was going to be a vampire forever hadn't really sunken in fully yet. I would go to hysterics sooner or later. "It's kind of hard to accept in just a matter of half an hour." I whispered and Edward nodded.

"Understandable," he said with a slight smile. "You'll get used to it though."

I snorted. "I hope so."

"Trust me," so now he wanted me to trust him? A little while ago, I had repulsed him although I did kind of understand why he had tried to keep his distance from me. "You'll get used to it after awhile."

"So why did you attack me?" I asked carefully.

Edward stiffened still. "You really want to know?" I nodded and he sighed. "When you were a human, you had the most alluring smell I had ever smelled in my whole life, it was amazing because I had never been addicted to humans since I had sworn off of them over a hundred years ago. When you walked into biology the first day, I was going to attack you then and there, but I tried to resist the urge since Carlisle has been doing everything for our family and I didn't want to destroy what he had built for us. When you came to that house and you were bleeding, I couldn't take it anymore, I had to attack you and that's exactly what happened." He finished and I nodded.

"I get it," I interjected. "I understand now, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"For telling me." I replied simply.

He nodded and didn't say anything. I was glad that there was silence so I could concentrate on what I was going to tell Charlie or had Carlisle already called him? I bet he had already called him, knowing Carlisle and everything he was probably a really organized person and had already called Charlie. "Forgive me Bella…" Edward breathed and I looked over at him.

"For what?"

"For damning you for eternity." Edward snapped.

"I'm sure it's not that bad Edward." I said softly and Edward shook his head as he muttered something below his breath that sounded like: _"she will never understand." _I was pretty sure that was what he said, but I couldn't hear him clearly. "I'll get used to it, you were just following your instincts, I understand." It was then that I realized that we were in front of my house. He nodded towards me and I got out of the car, being careful not to trip over anything. My new found legs assured me that I was not going to trip over anything. I walked into the house and was surprised when Charlie was standing in the hallway, a bag ready. I knew that Carlisle would have called him already.

"Dr. Cullen thinks it's for the best Bella, they're not sure what happened to you…" Charlie trailed off and looked at my closely. "Bella, what did happen to you? Did they give you plastic surgery?"

I would have blushed at his comment if I could have. I had forgotten that I hadn't looked in the mirror yet. "What are you talking about Dad? Of course I didn't get plastic surgery, exactly what did Dr. Cullen tell you?" I questioned and Charlie sighed.

"Dr. Cullen told me that they were still doing tests on you for something they found in your arm. It was not normal or something like that." I nodded waiting for him to continue. He sighed again, this time deeper. "Be careful Bella, I would visit from Dr. Cullen told me that it would be better if I didn't. I'll miss you Bells."

I almost choked. It didn't make sense, if there was something wrong with me, why wasn't anybody like escorting me places? Oh well, Charlie bought it and that was good for now. "I'll visit soon Dad." I promised and grabbed the bag gingerly from his hands. "I'll see you later." I said softly and walked out the door, I wasn't sure when I would return or if I would return at all.

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Esme had really out-done herself. I had just gotten back from getting my stuff from Charlie when Esme whisked me upstairs and showed me around the room. It was perfect, almost exactly like the room I had when I was living with Charlie which was only about a couple of days ago. The bed was a queen size and a rocking chair occupied one of the corners. I smiled as my eyes finally rested on a mirror. On the car ride back to the house, Edward said nothing. I thought about this as I approached the mirror. I gasped as I peered into the glass. My eyes were the same color as the rest of the Cullens' and my hair was longer and shinier and more beautiful. My features that I had thought were plain were more defined and beautiful. I stepped away from the mirror, thinking that I would faint from this beauty that I had never experienced before. I was not beautiful in my human life, my _'after'_ life made me beautiful.

"Are you alright?" A voice pondered from the doorway and I spun around to see Alice. I nodded and she smiled brightly. "C'mon downstairs with me Bella, you still have to meet the rest of the family! Actually, the only person that you haven't met is Emmett, he's Rosalie's husband." She said quickly and I nodded again, before letting her pull me downstairs. I was grateful that I didn't fall down the stairs. She pulled me into the dining room where all the rest of the family was seated. I looked at the third boy from the lunch table and smiled. Emmett was his name. "Emmett you know Bella, Bella this is Emmett." Alice said playfully and I smiled at her gratefully.

"Is there something we need to talk about?" I questioned after Alice had told me to sit down.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and said nothing. I hoped that she wouldn't be like this forever. That would be very… horrible. Carlisle cleared his throat and looked towards Edward. "We just want to tell you Bella that we don't think it would be good for you to go to school or really leave this house until a little longer."

"Understandable." I said softly and Carlisle nodded.

"Don't worry Bella," he said gently and I looked towards him. "Things will get better after this." I was going to hysterics probably. It had finally sunken in. Alice and Esme were by my side in a couple of seconds. Alice wrapped her arms tightly around me as I tried choking back my tearless sobs.

"It's going to be alright Bella." Alice cooed and I nodded.

I really wished that I could have believed her.

**End of Chapter 2: Forgiven**

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**Authors Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews! I really loved reading all of them. I am so sorry about the late update! I have been busy this past week with tests and projects and all that junk. I just want to explain this chapter further so you don't get confused or anything. Bella is a vampire, she moved in with the Cullens because they didn't want her attacking anybody and Charlie is oblivious along with Renée.**

Facts for the remainder of the story:

1. Renée and Charlie will come back into this story, I don't know when, but they will return!

2. Laurent, Victoria, and James are also going to be in this story, Laurent more then the rest of them. No Volturi though! If I make a sequel to this, then they will come into play.

3. Jacob… well let's just say that yes, Jacob is going to be in the story and he's going to cause a lot of trouble for Bella and Edward. (HINT HINT!) He's not a werewolf yet, so you know, he's not going to attack her or anything. The rest of the group (Sam, Paul, Jared, etc) will definitely come into this story next chapter.

**Well, that's all the foreshadowing I'm doing for this chapter! If it was confusing at all, please tell me and I'll try to clear things up. I think that this was the most difficult chapter for me because I had to find a way for Bella to react to her new life-style. Alright, I hope that you liked it!**

**Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3: These Eyes

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

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**Chapter 3: These Eyes**

I crossed my legs and sat down on the grass. It was a cool day again; the clouds were covering up the bright sun. I tried to swallow the hole that was in my throat and heart because I didn't want to believe what it really was. I was _thirsty_, but I was resisting the thirst. I didn't want to think about what I had to do. I had gotten used to being a vampire – as well as I could. The thought was always lingering in my mind, but I would just have to come and accept it. I didn't know what kind of town Forks was when I first entered, but now I knew. There were vampires everywhere, you were never safe from them, and I understood that. I still couldn't understand what had happened to me, but Esme and Alice had assured me that I would get used to it. Since living at the Cullens' house for about two days now, the rules had become stricter. I wasn't allowed to be out of anybody's sight, I wasn't allowed to be outside unless there was somebody with me, and I was definitely not allowed to call my parents at all. I didn't get the last rule, but I understood the last ones. Alice had been the nice one and decided to stay with me for awhile. The grass felt like nothing against my cool leg. I looked up at Alice who was sitting on the porch. She smiled back and waved slightly.

I tried swallowing the hole again, but it didn't work. "Alice?" I questioned timidly and Alice was by my side within seconds.

"What is it Bella?" Alice asked immediately.

"I'm just worried," I confessed. "That's all."

Alice looked puzzled. "What are you confused about Bella? I thought we almost explained everything to you." She sat down next to me, sitting down on her bottom so that her legs were to the side of her. She smiled carefully at me and I nodded to her previous statement.

"Well I'm just worried about after this and all, I don't know what I'm going to do." I admitted and Alice nodded, waiting for me to continue with my explanation. "After I get used to this life and all, I will be here for eternity, but what will I do with that eternity?" I questioned and Alice sighed.

"You do whatever you want Bella," she said softly. "There are so many things for you to do!"

I shrugged and then laughed. "Well I guess you will have to show me some things to do for my eternity." Alice nodded without saying anything. I sighed and leaned back, letting myself fall against the grass, my eyes closing in the process. Alice followed in suite. "Alice, tell me about vampires special abilities." I had tried asking her before, but I felt bolder now then I did the day before. I had heard a little about them, but nothing had been explained.

"What do you want to know?" Alice asked.

"Well, what does your power do for a start?"

Alice sighed besides me. "I can see the future, but I can't control my power. I only see things once somebody has decided to do something. For an example," I felt her move besides me, "say you can't decide what you're going to wear for a party but then you suddenly do decide. I'll see the outfit that you chose to wear, not you when you're in the decision process." I nodded.

"I understand." I said softly. "What about Edward?" I had heard that in the Cullen family, Alice, Jasper, and Edward were the only ones who had special powers.

"He can read minds," Alice said simply. "Except yours."

"What?" I sat up, my eyes wide open.

Alice sighed again. "He can't see your mind Bella, that's why he found you so interesting the first day of school—besides the fact that you had an amazing smell towards him—he couldn't see what you were thinking. I don't know why he can't see your mind though."

I wanted to move away from the subject and fast, maybe Edward would explain it to me later. "And what about Jasper?"

"He can feel peoples' feelings." Alice explained, she was clearly glad that we had moved off the subject also. She was back to her regular tone, something that I was glad of. "If you're panicking, he can send you something that will calm you down." I smiled at this; it might come in handy one day.

"Do you know why vampires get such powers?"

"We are just born with them, maybe something special in our human lives that we didn't know about that wound up becoming bigger once we were turned." Alice explained briefly. "I'm not quite sure, you'll have to ask Carlisle thought."

"Thank you Alice for telling me." She nodded and I fell back against the grass, closing my eyes once more.

"Bella," Alice said gently and I gingerly opened my eyes. "Don't deny your thirst."

"My thirst?!"

"You're thirsty Bella and if you hold it within you for too long, it could result in something bad. You could potentially attack the first _human_ that you see and that would be very bad." She spoke to me as if I was a child, but I guessed that I was a child in the vampire world. I was the newest of them all and I was just learning what I had to do. I inhaled sharply and turned my head towards Alice. "I think that you should come hunting with me Bella, I'll show you what you have to do."

"I—I…" Finding nothing to say, I only nodded. "I guess I can do that, but I might be an emotional wreck once more Alice, I'm not good with things like killing animals for their blood." Alice winced slightly at this and I opened my mouth to apologize, but Alice beat me too it.

"It's alright Bella, you will get used to it."

"You're sure?" I questioned seriously and Alice nodded. "Teach me Alice." I pleaded and she nodded, stretching her hand out to me. I took it gratefully and she pulled me to my feet. "Where is the rest of the family?" I whispered my questioned and Alice wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie are at school. Esme is out and Carlisle is at the hospital." Alice explained as she pulled me towards the edge of the boundaries of the house. The thick forest was taunting me and I gripped Alice's hand that was around my shoulder tightly. "Don't worry Bella, one lesson is probably all it will take, your instincts will kick in sooner then later."

I tried to smile, but fear was sinking into my every limb. It wasn't long before Alice scooped me up into her arms and started running. But not just regular running, running at an ungodly speed. It was something that I hadn't gotten used to even though they told me that all vampires could run at an ungodly speed and even some vampires had special abilities. Alice could see the future, Jasper could feel peoples' feelings, and Edward could read minds. They had no idea if I had a special ability or not, only time would tell. Alice set me down gingerly and I stood, trying to relocate my legs. I nodded to her and she scanned the area. She pointed towards a small deer and I shook my head quickly.

"Bella," she stressed. "Don't be scared."

"Just the thought of it sickens me Alice, what am I supposed to do?" I questioned fiercely, but my voice was still calm and it was still a whisper. "Show me please Alice," I pleaded and she nodded. "Thank you."

As gently as she could, she grabbed the deer before sinking her teeth into deer's flimsy flesh and fur. I winced as I saw this and tried to turn my head away from the sight, but it wouldn't let me. Soon, I found myself finding my own deer and sinking my teeth into the flimsy flesh and fur. I was drinking a sweet tangy liquid that burned as it made its way down in my body. It felt good to finally do this, but somehow it felt wrong at the same time. I couldn't stop though; I had gone too far to stop. I knew that Alice was watching me. When I was done, I looked down at the helpless deer and wanted to cry, but I knew that this was what I had to do to survive. Alice wrapped her arms around me in a hug and let me bury my head in the crook of her neck.

"The first time is always the hardest Bella." Alice commented and I nodded.

"I'll get used to it," I told myself more then Alice. "I know that I will."

"Let's go home Bella." Alice suggested and nudged me lightly. I nodded and she scooped me up once more, knowing that I hadn't learned to run yet. I looked up at Alice's face and into her red-ish eyes that suddenly turned back to their normal light color. She smiled down at me and before I knew it, we were back at the house. Esme was waiting for us at the porch, her arms folded across her chest.

She looked up after Alice had put me down on my own two feet and frowned slightly. "You should have called me Alice," she said sternly, "I could have helped with Bella's first hunting trip."

Alice rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I'm sorry Mom; I didn't really know that you wanted to come. You can come next time."

I almost lost my balance. "Next time?"

"Yes of course Bella, you have to keep hunting to survive." Esme said sweetly and Alice nudged me in front of her so we could go inside. I followed Esme into the house and sat down at the kitchen table, while Esme leaned against the counter and Alice sat down at the bar stools. "The first few times hunting are the worst, but you will get used to them sooner or later. It won't be that hard when you do learn fully."

"It wasn't that hard," I admitted and Esme smiled sweetly at me. "It was just my instincts."

"Let's get off of this subject," Alice groaned lightly and I nodded, I did want to get off of the subject, it kind of made me a little uneasy. I didn't like the thought of hunting at all. "Mom, when do you think it would be safe to take Bella out of the house?" She questioned and Esme shrugged.

"You'll have to ask your father," Esme said and Alice nodded. "But I'm guessing it won't be anytime soon." I winced at this; I wasn't going to leave the house for a very long time? I was going to be cut off from life for good. I looked up tentatively at Esme and Alice who were chatting about the weather or something like that. "Bella?" Esme said gently and I looked up at her.

"What?"

"Would you like to come to a baseball game?" I looked at her stunned. Wouldn't there be _humans_ at a baseball game? Before I could say anything else, she answered my thoughts. "Don't worry, I don't mean the major league kind of baseball games. I mean a baseball game played by our family."

I nodded. "When will this be?"

"When it rains," Alice answered simply and I raise an eye-brow in surprise.

"Don't fret," Esmes' soothing voice brought me back from my thoughts. "You'll learn about it tonight, I have to make sure that Carlisle, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper want to play though… Alice, will you go and call Carlisle?" Alice nodded and gracefully skipped away to the phone. I watched her before Esmes' voice spoke once more. "Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie should be home soon, so I'll ask them then." Esme decided and I nodded – speechless. The door opened and as if on cue, Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie walked into the room. Edward's eyes caught mine and I smiled slightly in his direction.

Rosalie moved smoothly over to the bar stools and sat down. "You called?"

"I didn't know that you were outside," Esme replied with a smile tugging at her lips. "Sometimes you guys amaze me. How was school?" It was the same questions that I would get from my father when I returned from school. I smiled fondly at the memories before papers and books were set down in front of me.

"I got your work Bella," Edward said and I nodded, my voice still stuck in my throat. "Mike has been thinking about you a lot also." He noted and turned back to Esme. I didn't say anything, but what could I say? There was nothing to really say to reply to that. Mike was pretty much infatuated by me along with Eric and Tyler. I wondered about Jessica and Angela and what they were thinking about my sudden absence.

"Alice is calling Carlisle right now, but she saw that it was going to rain tonight." I realized I had missed out of Rosalie's response to Esme's question because of my silent musing. "What do you say about baseball tonight you guys?"

"I'm in!" Emmett called from the hallway.

Jasper appeared in the doorway with a smile. "I'll play." He agreed.

Rosalie sighed dramatically while drumming her perfect nails on the granite counter-tops. She glanced over to me, a small smile tugging at her lips. Carefully, she inspected her nails before finally replying to Esme's question. "I'll play, but on one condition." We all looked at her. "You guys have to promise not to ruin my nails." She winked and it was the first time that I had actually seen Rosalie not up-tight. I was glad for the fleeting moment and I wanted to treasure it forever.

"He's in!" Alice declared and sat down besides me. "Dad said that he would play as soon as the thunder storm started."

"But why do you need to wait for a thunder storm to come?" I had finally found my voice.

"Bella, duh." Alice remarked as if it should be obvious. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly again. "You'll see." I shuddered at the way her tone was; she laughed her perfect laugh and looked over at the papers that were still sitting in front of me. "So what do you think Edward, are you going to play?" She didn't even look over at him as she talked.

"Of course," Edward grinned wolfishly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Show off!" Alice accused lightly. She turned away from the papers and looked over at her brother. "You're just saying that because you're the fastest or whatever." She was just teasing, I knew that. "Hmph, we'll see about that Mister Edward Cullen."

I was lost in my own personal musings as Edward and Alice went back in forth. Soon, Rosalie and Jasper had disappeared from sight, going up to their own rooms while I remained seated, listening to their small banters. Esme rested a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at her. "What is it?" I asked as Edward and Alice finally stopped their playful teasing.

"Go get ready Bella," she coaxed and I looked down at my attire. "Carlisle will be here soon and then we'll have to leave."

"Alright," I agreed and pulled myself out of the chair. "I'll be back in a second."

"Don't take too long!" Alice cheered after me as I walked up towards my room. I sat down on my bed after I had closed the door and fell against the soft comforter. I was going to learn more about my new family and probably I was going to have to accept some more things. I loved that they were being so acceptable of me, even Rosalie a little bit. I shifted my position so I was lying on my side. I bit the inside of my lip before pushing myself off of the bed and grabbing the first thing I saw. I stripped off my cut off jeans that I had been wearing before and replaced them with full length jeans and a plaid shirt that had belonged to my father. I let my hair fall down from the pony tail and then walked downstairs where everybody was already waiting. We walked outside in silence and then walked towards the woods when the thunder started and the rain was falling. All of them seemed to be unaffected by the rain.

"You need me to carry her?" Alice questioned, knowing that I wasn't ready to run on my own just yet. I nodded to her and moved towards her slightly. "I'll meet you guys there-"

Edward cut in, "It's alright Alice, I'll take her this time."

I stopped dead in my tracks, Edward wanted to take me? He had barely talked to me over the two days I had been at the household except the time when he had given me my homework assignments. I didn't resist as Edward took me into his arms. I hadn't even realized that the rest of the family was already gone from sight. "You didn't have to volunteer Edward." I scolded and Edward grinned as I wrapped my arms around his neck gently. "Alice could have taken me."

"I know, but I feel bad. I haven't even tried to get to know you and I'm the one who damned you for eternity. You're part of the family now. I thought that this would finally break the ice." Edward explained and I nodded as he started to run. I still wasn't used to going at an ungodly speed, but it felt kind of good running with Edward. He placed me down at a big rock that I could sit at. Esme was sitting beside it on another rock and she smiled as soon as I was there. "We'll get to know each other more later." Edward whispered in my ear before he sprinted off towards the rest of his family which was about twenty feet ahead of us.

"What are they doing?" I questioned lightly, trying to stop the weird flipping that was happening in my stomach. I wasn't quite sure why I was having these feelings, but they were happening and I couldn't stop them.

"They're positioning themselves." Esme replied. "It's Carlisle, Alice, and Edward against Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper." She explained and I nodded.

I looked at Esme, "you're not playing?"

"I'm the referee; they get quite competitive when they're playing." Esme smiled.

I watched in amazement as Alice danced her way up to the mound. I was startled at how far back Jasper stood as he held up the metal bat. Surely she could not throw that far – but she did. She threw that far and it was a strike. The next one was not; Jasper hit it hard and far. I was so surprised by the loud crashing sound that the contact of the ball and bat made that I almost fell off of the rock, if Esme hadn't caught me I meant. I now understood why

"Is it a homerun?" I asked.

Esme shook her head. "Look," she said and pointed towards the woods that the ball had disappeared into. Edward came sprinting out of it and my eyes widened. I had never seen anything like this. "Edward's the fastest of them all." She stated to me and I nodded.

The next few innings were all so amazing and fun at the same time. A smile was always brought to my face whenever the teams fought a call. Esme would get up casually and tell them what she had decided; it was wonderful watching them be a family. If I were still a human, I would have been surprised that they were so close to each other seeing that they had acted so distance through the first weeks of school. A pang flew through my chest as I realized that I had no idea how long I would be away from school, I had never missed school so much. I watched the Cullen's play before suddenly, Alice and everybody else was looking towards the woods. Embarrassed that even though I had been changed and my senses were enhanced, I had no idea what they were looking at, I simply slumped in my stance. Next thing I knew, there were three other vampires emerging from the woods. The leader of the pack, stepped forward and nodded in acknowledge of Carlisle and the rest of the family's presences. The leader was tall and lean with dark brown hair that fell haphazardly in his eyes. His eyes were a dark color, nothing like the rest of the Cullens' eyes and my own eyes. The next one was a female with wild orange hair and piercing black eyes just like the leaders. The last one was another male, with brown messy hair and the same eyes as the other two.

"We heard you playing," the leader announced, "do you mind having extra players?"

Carlisle smiled and shook his head. "Nope, I think that we could play with uneven teams. How long are you all in town?" He questioned and the leader removed his back-pack and moved towards us before answering. He set it down in next to Esme.

"Only a couple days, we haven't hunted in awhile." He answered.

Carlisle stiffened slightly at the words. "Please, we wish for you to retain hunting around this area and Forks, it just won't be good for anything." Carlisle explained and the leader nodded to Carlisle and the rest of his pack.

"Understandable," he replied. "Don't worry, we won't do anything _here_."

"Your names…?" Esme prodded.

"I'm Laurent," he stated and flashed a dashing smile at me. I looked behind me quickly to see if he was looking at somebody else, but I was wrong, he was looking straight at me. I would have blushed if I was still human. "This is Victoria," he motioned towards the woman in the pack, "and this is her mate James."

"Nice to meet you," Carlisle said formally and turned to the rest of our family which was out in the field. "This my family, Esme is the one sitting on the rock, Bella is the one next to her, Alice is at the mound, Emmett is the one up to bat, Jasper is in the dug-out along with my other daughter Rosalie, and Edward is in the outfield. I'm Carlisle by the way."

"Well it's a pleasure," Laurent said. "What team shall we be on?"

Alice smiled sweetly. "Victoria can be on Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper's team with James. Laurent, you can be on our team." She said softly and Laurent nodded.

"Excellent idea. Bella, are you not playing?" He asked me.

"Hmmm?"

"You do not fancy baseball?"

"Uh, well… not really." I confessed and Laurent nodded before moving out to the field. I could have flushed forever if Laurent even smiled at me again. For some reason, he was doing something to me and I didn't know what it was. I hoped that it wasn't anything bad, I probably couldn't handle that right now. Alice danced over to us gracefully. "What was that about?" I questioned gingerly to Alice.

"What are you talking about Bella?" Alice asked innocently, a smile clear on her face. "I think Laurent likes you. I think it's _like_ at first sight."

I rolled my eyes. "I think he likes you too."

"I'm married though," Alice protested playfully. "Anyways I have to get back there, but I think that he likes you." Alice smirked and pressed a cool kiss to my cheek before muttering, "Edward must be jealous," and running off back to the mound. My eyes widened at her words, but I brushed them off, she must have been just playing around with me, Edward would not be jealous. He just wanted to be my friend, nothing more then that. Although I had to admit that he was very _very_ good looking. Laurent didn't really match up to Edward, but I wasn't going to say anything.

"Bella, are you alright?" Esme asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I almost fell off of the rock. "Of course, why wouldn't I be fine?"

"I don't know," Esme furrowed her brow as she looked at me. "You just seemed distance; it doesn't mean anything I was just asking because I'm worried about you dear." She smiled and turned when somebody called her name. She smiled good-naturedly as she stood up, seeing that something was wrong on the field. "I'm very sorry Emmett, but you're out." I heard Esme tell the family and I smiled, I hadn't even known that Esme was watching, but clearly she had been. The thunder rolled on, but it didn't seem to bother me anymore. The game wrapped up and Edward, Alice, Carlisle, and Laurent ended up wining much to the other teams' dismay.

"We won!" Edward cheered as he raced over to Esme and I. I was sure that he was going to stop next to Esme, but he continued towards me, sweeping me up in his arms. I couldn't help but laugh at his childish antics. Embarrassed though, he put me down after realizing what he had done. "Sorry about that, Bella."

"It's quite alright," I chuckled and he grinned.

His grin vanished when Laurent made his way over to us; he hugged me, but didn't lift me off the ground. "Did you see that, it was a good win, wasn't it Bella?" He was talking to me like we were long lost friends, I nodded meekly. "I want to get to know you Bella." He whispered against my ear and I stood there motionless.

"I—I don't think that's possible Laurent," I smiled and pushed away from him, moving to Edward's side. He took me in his arms protectively. I wasn't surprised by his motions because of what Alice had said, but something worried me. Thunder roared in the background and I glanced up to the sky. "We're from two different places," I explained further, "it was nice meeting you though, we should probably get back though, shouldn't we Edward?"

Carlisle stepped forward. "Why don't you come back to the house with us?"

I shot a sideways glance to Edward who only frowned. Laurent raised his head and looked at Victoria and James who were trailing with Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett. Esme stood besides Carlisle. "Well I don't see why we can't take an hour off of our trip, do you Victoria or James?" He asked the rest of his pack.

"I don't see why not." Victoria replied I starred at her orange locks.

"Fine by me." James agreed.

"Come along then," Carlisle said quickly and waited for Laurent, Victoria, and James to ready themselves before bolting. Laurent sent me a quick smile and mouthed: 'meet you there,' before following after Carlisle. Esme smiled before running off while Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett followed after.

"Shall we go?" I questioned softly and Edward shook his head. "No?"

"You saw the way Laurent was looking at you," Edward stated. "You're not going back to somebody like that; he'll flirt with you until he's forced to leave." Was that jealousy I heard? No way, I must have been mistaken; Edward didn't date at all, at least that was what Jessica had told me. "Anyways I told you that I was going to get to know you better."

He set me down on the rock again and sat down next to me. "Alright, well what do you want to know?" I asked and Edward shrugged and smiled, leaning back on his palms. "Ever played truth?" I questioned and Edward shook his head no. Right then, I wanted to eat my words up because it was such a childish game and Edward would definitely not want to play it.

"What is it?"

"Well—um, it's a game." I stuttered. "You ask the other person a question and they have to answer it truthfully."

"Do you ever lose?" Edward asked.

I shrugged and glanced over at him. "I don't think so, but I could be wrong." I looked up towards the sky, the thunder was passing over and soon there would be none. "Every time I played back home, nobody ever lost." Okay, so that was a complete lie because I had only played it once when I was eight – when I actually _had_ friends. Which really were only two girls that aren't really important enough to name, no offense or anything.

"Alright, you want to go first or should I go first?"

"You ask first." I confirmed.

"Hmmm. What's your middle name?"

I rolled my eyes before laughing out loud. "That's the best you could come up with? Edward, I'm surprised at you!" He glared at me good-naturedly and I finally suppressed my laughter. "It's Marie. Isabella Marie Swan."

"But aren't your parents divorced?"

"Hey! You only get to ask one question – _that_ can be another question." I teased and I looked over at him, starring into his golden eyes. They were the color of topaz. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Have you ever loved before?" I asked gently.

He hesitated obviously before answering. "Never," he replied and turned to look at me. "Have you?"

"Are you sure you want that to be your question?"

He laughed and I melted at his laugh, something that I wasn't used to doing – with anybody especially the guy who had supposedly _damned _me for _eternity_. But Edward was different and somehow I felt myself falling. "Uh-huh, that's what I want my question to be."

"Maybe we should get back…" I muttered more to myself then to Edward.

"You're just trying to get out of this question, aren't you?" He asked and I shook my head 'no'. "We've only been a couple of minutes, Laurent and the rest of his pack can wait _forever_ for all I care." He snorted and I looked at his skeptically. "Answer my question Isabella Marie Swan."

I scrunched up my nose. "Fine, but if I answer it, will you take me back?" He nodded. "No, I've never been in love." He smiled a secret smile before scooping me up in his arms and running at the ungodly speed again. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, I was not going to get anxious from this running, I didn't even know if I could get anxious. Before I knew it, Edward was setting me back on the ground inside the house. "Sorry we're late," I said breathlessly, "we got caught up."

Alice opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Edward threw her a glance. I knew that he was saying something to her in her mind, but I shrugged it off. I sat down at the kitchen table where Laurent was. "We were missing you Bella dear, do you mind if we take a walk?"

"Um," I looked over at Carlisle who nodded to me. "Alright."

He led me outside, despite Edward's frowns. He led me towards the porch and I leaned against the wall of the house, waiting for him to speak. "Are you and Edward mates?"

'_Say yes Bella,' _Edward coaxed in my mind. '_It'll be easier this way.'_

"Well—I…" I trailed off, listening to Edward in my mind once more. "Yes, we are mates." I lied through my clench teeth and Laurent sighed.

"That's a shame Bella, such a beauty you are and you are taken. I should have found you sooner, but I guess that I cannot complain. Edward suits you very much." Laurent sighed again deeply and then smiled. "I hope that you don't mind me asking that question. I hope also that we can become friends. I wouldn't mind visiting every now and then."

"I guess that is quite alright." I said and I looked over to the sliding doors. "Is that all you needed to talk to me about Laurent?" I asked and Laurent nodded. I took his hand friendly and led him back into the house. Once inside, I was glad to be in the presence of my new family and I dropped his hand and sat back down at the kitchen table. They all looked pale. "Did I miss something important?"

"Nothing," Victoria answered. "I think that it's time we leave Laurent."

"That would be for the best." Laurent agreed. "It was nice meeting you all, especially you Bella, maybe next time we will be meeting under different circumstances." I nodded, speechless. It wasn't like I didn't like Laurent, I just didn't think of him like that. How could I? I had just met him! They were gone in a flash.

"Well," Rosalie stated dramatically. "That was weird."

"It was," Esme agreed.

Alice shifted in her seat and sighed. "I think that Laurent likes Bella very much, that's why he's probably going to come back." She teased and I rolled my eyes, not wanting to argue with her over this again. "You two would be cute together!"

"Alice," Edward warned.

"Sorry, sorry. You're so touchy sometimes Edward." Alice huffed playfully. "Laurent probably won't even come back."

She had no idea how wrong she was.

**End of Chapter 3: These Eyes**

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**Authors Note: NINE PAGES! WOOT! Isn't that amazing? I was aiming for TEN, but I just couldn't get the last part out of me. So nine is an okay number, right? Oh also, I only update usually on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so look out for my updates then! So anyways a little bit about this chapter, I didn't know where it was going – but everything just came out at once and I ended up with this chapter. I hope that you really do like it! I loved writing it, I just couldn't stop writing it **_**at all**_**! So I messed up the foreshadowing kind of. Here I'll try again, but I hope that I won't get it wrong this time and also this time its right! I will stick to my word once I have written it down on paper! I am so sorry about this, I messed up badly.**

Facts for the remainder of the story:

1. Renée and Charlie will be back in the story. Charlie a little more then Renée and maybe even Phil, I'm not sure yet!

2. Well as you can tell from this chapter Laurent will be returning. I don't think that Victoria or James will be returning, but Laurent is definitely returning because he's going to cause trouble with Edward and Bella – no duh! No Volturi still!

3. Jacob is going to be in this story by maybe two chapters from now. I was going to put Sam, Paul, and Jared in this chapter, but I thought that it would be soon and this is where my error was in the last chapters foreshadowing. Sam, Paul, and Jared are going to come in _after_ Jacob comes into the story. Since Jacob hasn't been changed into a were-wolf, he _will not_ attack Bella, he'll be getting weird feelings around her – but he won't just suddenly attack her. Get it? Good!

5. EDWARD CANNOT READ BELLA'S MIND... but he can talk to her through it. Like it's a one-sided conversation. Sorry if that confused anybody! He read Laurent's mind and then contacted Bella because he thought that she was going to do something stupid or something that would make Laurent come back. Etc... etc.

**Well, that's enough foreshadowing for now! Thanks so much for all the reviews and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Also, I want to know some things before you guys leave me:**

1. _Do you want Jacob in the story?_

2. _How long should it be before Bella is allowed out of the house alone (where she meets Jacob)?_

3. _I'm thinking of the next chapter being an 'Edward Interlude' where it is in Edward's point of view, what do you think about that?_

**Review please and tell me the answers you think to those questions! THANKS!**


	4. Chapter 4: If I Could

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

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**Chapter 4: If I Could**

I blinked.

A couple of times, I wasn't sure what I was doing, but I was just standing in the middle of the family room, the rest of the Cullen family walking around. Shouldn't they be at school? It was a perfectly fine day outside—sunny and warm—and yet all of my new family was inside, even Carlisle. It was so strange to see them all milling around the house this early in the morning and yet I was clueless to why they were just _inside_. Usually Jasper, Emmett, Edward, Carlisle, and Rosalie were gone from the house at the crack of dawn while Alice and Esme stayed home to help out with my change to life. I was not allowed out of the house on my own, but I was usually too scared to go outNeedless to say, I haven't made my way out of the house on my own quite yet. Now, I stood completely idle while the rest of the family moved happily throughout the house. I just did not get them at all.

"Bella, are you alright?" Jasper questioned softly and I turned around to look at him.

I shrugged. "I guess not, I'm just confused that's all."

"About what?" Rosalie joined the conversation; she was clad in black jeans and a blue t-shirt with an over-sized sweat-shirt over it. I had never seen her so relaxed before. "You know you can always just come to one of us if you are confused." She added lightly.

"Why are you guys here?" I blurted out. So much for not being blunt. I stood there totally embarrassed at my slip of the tongue when Rosalie started laughing and walked off muttering: "I guess Edward hasn't told her about that yet." Jasper stood there, a smirk across his features and rested a hand upon my shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, why are you guys not at school?"

He shook his head, a smile crossing his face. "I'll tell Edward to tell you."

"Hmph! Why is it a secret or something Jasper?" I argued.

"Yes," he agreed. "It's a secret."

And with that, I was left alone again in the middle of the room. I sighed and looked over at Esme who was standing in the kitchen writing something down on a piece of paper. I was debating whether or not to go over there and ask her about why everybody was home when somebody tapped me on the shoulder non-discreetly. "Ah!" I shouted and flinched as I turned around to face the person.

Edward stood there with a smirk clear on his face. "I heard you were confused."

"Definitely," I agreed. "But you don't have to scare me like that you know."

Ever since Laurent, Victoria, and James had visited and we had started to talk to each other, Edward and I had become friends. We were _very_ close but it was nothing more than a friendship… _for now_. We had been playing 'Truth' for the past few weeks and I was glad that I could count of Edward when I was confused about things. He wasn't anything like I had first suspected him to be when I had met him on my first day in Forks. He was a nice guy who was funny and lively. I understood why he had avoided me and I was actually glad that he opened up to me. It was great having Edward as a close friend just like the rest of the family. Needless to say, I was glad to have such a wonderful and caring new family.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Jasper just told me that you wanted to know something." I nodded and waited for him to continue. "You know, I was thinking about telling you and just explaining it but I think that it would be better if I just showed you."

"Showed me what?" I asked tentatively.

He smirked and I knew he wasn't going to tell me. "Well, I guess you'll just have to see for yourself Bells."

"Well then," I said boldly, "show me."

"C'mon." He ordered and grabbed my hand as he intertwined our fingers. It wasn't anymore then a friendly hand… holding. I knew that much, I knew that Edward would probably never really like me like that. He had so many other options—he could fall in love with a human if he really wanted too! He pulled me towards the garage and we didn't even need to go outside. He released my hand and opened the passenger door for me. I was glad when I slipped into the dark car, noting that it wasn't Edward's usual Volvo.

"Hmm. You got an upgrade?" I questioned playfully.

Edward scowled. "Oh Bella, you're just _too_ funny." Edward said dryly and I laughed at his sarcasm. I was used to how sarcastic he would be on some occasions. He put the key into the ignition and backed out of the garage and before I knew it, the visor above my seat was pulled down. "Close your eyes."

"Huh?" I mumbled stupidly. "What are you talking about?"

"Close your eyes Bella." Edward commanded and with a sigh, I gently closed my eyes.

I folded my arms across my chest and sighed again, this time catching Edwards' attention. "I don't understand why I have to close my eyes, I just don't. Edward, is there something that you're hiding from me? Like an ex-lover that you want me to meet?" I teased and I heard Edward laugh under his breath.

"Actually it's a surprise, but I assure you it's not an ex-lover. I already told you that I haven't been in love before. Anyways, is it your turn or my turn to ask the question?" Edward asked and I shrugged. "I assume it's my turn."

"Probably." I breathed.

"Alright…" I could hear the car speeding up and I scowled. Charlie being a police man had really had effects on me. I _hated_ driving fast and Edward new that… even if I had been changed. "So, are your parents divorced?"

I would have looked at him skeptically if I could have opened my eyes. Instead I just smirked. "Yes, they are divorced."

"Then why do you keep your fathers' name?" Edward asked and I rolled my eyes under my closed eye-lids. I was used to him always asking two questions when it was only supposed to be one. Edward had a habit of that. I usually just answered them, but now it was kind of annoying.

"Edward," I warned. "Please refrain yourself to only one question per turn."

"You sound like my mom." Edward teased and I knew that he was looking over at me. "Just answer the question Isabella Marie Swan."

I held my hands up defensively and my smirk turned into a smile, my eyes were still closed. I could feel the car come to a stop and I folded my arms across my chest once more. "Fine, fine but this is the last time Edward." I knew he was grinning as I heard him open the passenger door and grab my hand. "Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you once you answer my question."

I sighed. "Well when my parents divorced I still had the 'Swan' last name because it had been my name my whole life. I was given a choice to take my mothers' name or my fathers' name and even though I went with my mother, I decided to keep my fathers' name. It was really a mutual decision; my mom said it would be better if I didn't take my step dads' name." I shrugged as he picked me up. "I don't know why she said that though."

"I guess it's a mystery." Edward breathed and that was when I realized that we were running somewhere. I tightened my grip on his neck until he gently put me down. I let go and staggered away from him. "We're here."

I realized that we were standing in a meadow under the shade of the trees. I rolled my eyes. "You've gone crazy, haven't you?" I accused lightly.

Edward didn't say anything, he just pushed me lightly out from under the shade. "I'm sure that I haven't gone completely insane Bella. It must be you." He shot back and I laughed before I realized that it was sunny and I was standing out in the exposed sun. Every little piece of skin that was kissed by the sun was shining—shining so bright that I had no idea what was going on, so I hid behind Edward, knowing that it really wasn't going to do anything. "What are you doing Bella?"

"There's something wrong with me!" I yelped and buried my head in his back.

Edward laughed and I glared at his back. This was not a laughing matter! There might have been something very horrible happening to me and yet—he was laughing at me! "Bella, there's nothing wrong with you, that's what I wanted to show you. This is why we stay inside on a sunny day." He grabbed my hand and led me out towards the sunny meadow. I looked over at him and he was shining also. He sat us down in the middle of the meadow.

"What's going on?" I asked softly.

"If you're thinking about vampires being burnt by the sun—that's a myth." Edward explained. "What happens when we walk into the sun is we shine, very _very_ brightly. It's kind of weird if you think about it, but it's the truth." I rolled my eyes good-naturedly at him. "Anyways this is why we don't go to school on a sunny day, do you know how many people would ask why we're _glittering_?"

"Uh-huh," I replied truthfully. "So you're telling me to not go out on a sunny day or _else_."

"True," he answered.

I nodded. "Okay, I got it." I looked up at the sky and smiled before deciding to change the subject. "This meadow is very beautiful Edward, when did you find it?"

Edward shrugged. "Awhile ago, although I haven't been back here for a long time."

"I see." I said simply and turned towards him, my smile turning into a smirk. "I believe it's my turn to ask you a question Mister Cullen." He smiled and nodded. "If you could redo anything, what would it be?" I asked lightly and Edward just sat there for a second, not moving a muscle.

His smirk turned into a frown and he looked at me for a couple of seconds. I thought he was going to tell me that that was a stupid question, but he didn't. "I would redo damning you to eternity the second day you were in Forks. You don't deserve a life like this Bella." He replied truthfully and I turned towards him, starring at him with wide eyes. "I should have just resisted my thirst for human blood like I had been doing for the past one hundred years… but then you came and I just couldn't. I wish I hadn't done it, you should have just had a normal life like everybody else."

"I—I…" Finding nothing to say—which was usual for me—I turned my head away from him and starred at the tree as if it were something that was really interesting. I finally slowly turned my head towards him and I noticed that his glance wasn't off me. "What are you starring at?" I asked, trying to lighten up the mood.

He sensed the tension, I could feel it. "Nothing, just you."

"Oh? So I'm nothing then?" I countered.

"Maybe," he smirked and grabbed my hand gently. "Just kidding, you're _something_."

"Hmmm! I don't think that I am just something Edward." I said as he stroked the back of my hand, tracing his fingers on my pale skin. I shivered at his touch, but tried to restrain it. "I think I am much more then just _something_."

"Of course Bella," he said distantly. "You are much more then just something."

He looked up at me and I looked back at him, starring into his topaz eyes. I wondered what he was thinking and I wondered if he was wondering what I was thinking also. I looked down at our intertwined hands and reminded myself that we were just friends and nothing more. I looked back at him and smiled slightly. "What?" I questioned softly and he just shook his head.

"Nothing." Edward replied simply.

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It wasn't until two days after visiting the meadow that I ventured out on my own.

I guess I have to admit that I was kind of scared that I would do something if I went out on my own, but nothing seemed to happen when a human walked past me. I had given up the offer of using a car from Jasper _and_ Emmett _and _Edward. They had all asked if I wanted too and I had said simple: 'no', I would rather just walk. As soon as I was out of the house, I was walking towards Charlie's house before I even knew it. It was strange seeing Charlie's house from afar and also seeing it finally in a long time. I stared at it for awhile until I heard a car door slam and I whirled around to meet a young boy's eye. I was not tempted at all when his scent drafted over towards me, I was just surprised that he had stopped and _wanted_ to talk to me.

"Who are you?" I hissed—not meaning for it to be mean or anything.

He held up his hands defensively. "I thought you wouldn't remember me, but I'm guessing that you're Bella Swan." I nodded and he smiled a crookedly smile and it almost looked like the one that Edward wore sometimes. "I'm Jacob Black; you bought my dads' truck. Does Billy Black ring a bell? I don't think that you remember me. You probably remember my sisters' though."

"Rebecca and Rachel." I suddenly recalled and I looked at him strangely, there was something odd about this boy, but I couldn't seem to figure out why he was so weird. He smelled distinctly and it was a bad scent. "What are you doing here?" I furrowed my brow.

"I was just looking for you." He replied. "Charlie told me you had moved out, but I guess you're back?"

"I didn't move out," I shot back, trying to figure out what was wrong with this kid. He smelled so weird and yet it was a familiar scent that I was used too… where was it from? "Well, I guess I did." I admitted and he nodded. His scent was overwhelming, but he seemed like a good kid. "I'm thinking about moving back in, but Charlie and I just didn't get along. So I decided that if I wanted to still live in Forks, I would have to move out. So… that's exactly what I did." I lied through my clenched teeth and Jacob nodded again, once. "Charlie's fine with it though."

"I see," he answered. "I haven't seen you in awhile, that's why I'm here."

"It's been awhile Jacob." I agreed and half-smiled.

"It definitely has," Jacob replied and smiled at me in a crooked smile that I sometimes found Edward wearing. I tried to bit back my comments and it worked. "So what's new about you? I've been looking for you everywhere and I couldn't find you, I'm so glad that I caught you this time though."

I laughed; it was a very natural laugh, something I was used too. It wasn't forced or anything. "I've just been busy with school and friends and extra clubs and all that after-school junk. You know how it is?" I said and Jacob nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, same here." Jacob said and looked around the street. "You want to go somewhere Bella?" He asked and I nodded because it was true, I did want to learn more about Jacob and his weird—scent. He smiled and led me towards his car.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

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"Is there something wrong?" I asked Edward as I entered the house a couple of hours after meeting Jacob. He wasn't as bad as he seemed and we had agreed to meet once more. "You look distant or something. Actually," I decided. "You look repulsed."

"There's something wrong," Edward turned to Alice who was standing next to him. "Do you smell that?"

"What? Is it me?" I asked lightly.

Alice closed her eyes and shook her head quickly. "It's faint, I'm sure that we're just sensing something that's wrong Edward," they were speaking as if I was not in the room. I shook my head and slipped off my jacket. "It has to be wrong, Bella would never do that." She mumbled—it was probably intended for me not to hear, but it was easy for me to hear her with the enhanced senses.

"Possibly." Edward agreed. "But you never know."

"Edward," Esme appeared out of nowhere. "Don't just jump to conclusions. Bella, darling why don't you go upstairs and visit with Jasper or Rosalie…" I looked at her strangely and then nodded, knowing that it was the right thing to just go with her. I walked up the stairs softly and walked over towards Alice and Jaspers' room. I knocked on the door and Jasper opened the door slightly. He smiled and greeted me before letting me in.

"Hey Jasper, Esme told me to come and visit you." I said and sat down in the chair in the corner of the room. "So I did." I smiled at him as he laughed at my joke.

"I'm glad that you finally decided to pay me a visit." He teased and then he sniffed the air. He furrowed his brow and looked at me sharply. "Bella, would you like this explain why you reek of werewolf?"

I sat there completely still. He had not just said what I thought he said… did he? He just said that I reeked of werewolf? So there were more then just vampires in Forks? I never thought Forks would be the place for all these—not so—mythical creatures. I looked at him, my eyes wide when I heard Carlisle's voice ringing throughout the house. Jasper grabbed my hand gently before pulling me down the stairs. I was surprised to see that all the rest of the family was already there.

"It's a family meeting," Carlisle said in greeting and I sat down at the end of the table.

"What's going on?" I asked meekly.

Edward, who was sitting on my right side, frowned slightly. "Bella, where were you today?" He asked and I shook my head, I was not going to tell them about Jacob, they would absolutely freak. "C'mon Bella, we need to know." He coaxed gently.

I caved because Edward was one of my best friends and I should just tell him the truth, it wasn't right to hide it from my new family. "I was with this old family friend Jacob Black." They all shifted nervously at the name. "Why is there something wrong? We were just catching up and we agreed to meet later."

"I thought so," Carlisle said calmly. "It's the treaty."

"What treaty?" I asked and Alice shushed me lightly. I sunk into the car and looked up towards Carlisle, wondering what the heck the treaty was. He went on about something for awhile before the conversation was directed to me.

"Bella, you cannot see Jacob Black anymore." Carlisle declared firmly.

"What—" I stopped short when Edward gave me a short look. "Alright?"

"They're going to come soon," Alice sighed deeply and turned towards me. "Bella, Jacob was just using you. He's a werewolf and he was leading you on because he wanted to make sure that we had really broken the treaty."

"What's the treaty?"

"There's a treaty that was signed along time ago that agreed that the vampires and werewolves would live in peace… as long as we didn't hunt people—which we don't—and we couldn't bit anybody either. If we break the treaty, which we did, it would mean wear between the vampires and werewolves." My heart dropped to my stomach. "Jacob Black was reporting back to the other werewolves today, he knew that you had been changed. He could sense it and I'm surprised that you didn't sense the weirdness about him."

"I did," I interjected. "But I didn't know what it was."

"They're here." Alice declared, not letting me say anymore. She stood up and walked towards the door, the rest of the family following her. I dragged behind with Edward, who had wrapped an arm around me tightly and protectively. I shrank into his embrace and he kissed the top of my head reassuringly.

"I'm here; it's going to be okay. Nothing's going to happen. They're not here to fight." Edward relayed to me and I nodded timidly again, as we stood in the open doorway. The werewolves were taller then anybody else I had seen before and as I glanced among them, I realized that Jacob was among them. My eyes grazed his familiar complexion and I shook my head, I shouldn't have believed him in the first place. He was smirking at me and I buried my head in Edward's shoulder.

"You broke the treaty," the leader informed us and Carlisle nodded his head. "You bit Isabella Swan, daughter of Charlie Swan and I'm afraid to say that this is the end of the 'peaceful' treaty."

"We understand," Carlisle said solemnly.

"From this day on, we are at war." The leader said and Carlisle nodded.

I had a horrible feeling settling into my chest and I knew, this was my entire fault.

**End of Chapter 4: If I Could**

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**Authors Note: SEVEN PAGES! YAY! Sorry this is probably the worst chapter I have ever written in my life. I just didn't know how to put Jacob into this story and then I just put him in for a little while. Oh! I am sorry about not doing an Edward's interlude, I totally forgot, but I might still do it later. I'm not sure now. Okay, thank you so much for all the reviews! Here's some more foreshadowing if you would like it.**

Facts:

1. Laurent is going to come back into this story and soon because the Cullen family has to decide what to do once the treaty is broken. They don't want to destroy all the werewolves, so they are probably going to go to Alaska for awhile.

2. Jacob is not a big part of the story, unless you want him to be? I'm not sure what part he would play in this story though.

3. Mike _will not _be making another appearance along with Lauren, Jessica, and Angela.

4. Renée and Charlie are going to come in when _Bella_ returns to Forks.

5. Edward and Bella are not together _yet_, but they will be getting together very soon! Don't worry!

**I guess that's it for now, I have some questions for you though, so please answer then!**

_Questions, questions:_

_1. What's the group of vampires' names in Alaska? (Erg, I kind of forget)._

_2. What part do you want Jacob to play in this story?_

_3. Edward's interlude is still an option, do you want it?_

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: These Are the Nights

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or anything really._

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**Chapter 5: These Are the Nights**

I buried my head in my knees as I rocked slowly back and forth. I would have cried if I could produce tears, but I just sat there rocking over and over again. I wanted to tell myself that it wasn't my fault—but clearly, it was my fault. I knew this was my entire fault;_ I_ was the one who had exposed me to the werewolves. I was the one who was getting my whole new family in trouble. They probably hated me now.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Alice's voice carried throughout the house. The sweetness was gone from her voice, it was pure worry now. "They'll be back for sure."

"That's a fact," Rosalie commented. "Bella?"

I lifted my head out of my knees and looked up—I had just realized that they were all standing near me now. The whole family: Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Alice were looming above me. I shook my head and rested my cheek against my knee. I wanted to speak, but there was a hole in my throat again. I had no idea what we were going to do because of the treaty. I had no idea that there even _was_ a treaty; I was the only one who  
didn't know. I had no idea why they wouldn't tell me about the treaty or even worry about it, but they just didn't. I sighed and shifted my gaze to Rosalie who was still starring at my intently.

"What?" I questioned softly.

"C'mere," she ordered and bent down before grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet. She wrapped her arm around my waist and pulled me towards the dining room. I was surprised at her sudden kindness, as she pushed me down into the seat. The rest of the family filed in and she sat down on my right side, smiling weakly. "Stop beating yourself up, this isn't your fault." She stated firmly and turned to Carlisle.

Emmett sighed and started to pack back and forth. "This is bad." He muttered.

"We can see that Emmett dear," Esme said soothingly. "But everything is going to be alright, I promise you that."

"There isn't much time." Alice commented. "They're looking for us."

Carlisle stood up from the bar stool and asked for the attention of all of us. "All we can do is leave." My eyes widened, we would have to leave? I would have to leave Charlie _forever_? I didn't know if I could do that. "Or we could fight them, which I don't think is a good idea, there are just too many of them."

"But leave Carlisle?" Esme asked and Carlisle nodded.

"I don't see any other option. I am not putting my family in danger." He said more to himself then to the rest of us. I folded my hands together, not saying anything. I didn't really have anything to say. "There is no other way," he stressed his gaze on Edward. I knew that they were talking in their minds.

"I don't know if I can leave." I confessed and all pairs of eyes turned towards me. "I mean with Charlie and all, I don't know if I can leave and just never come back."

"There is no other way." Carlisle repeated. "Unless you want to die, Bella."

"We can take them!" Emmett shouted from the corner of the room.

"Emmett," Carlisle warned. "Werewolves are not ones to be tempered with. I don't know if we could all take them. There are a lot of werewolves in La Push and I just don't know if it's good to go against them. We did sign a treaty," he hesitated before adding, "and Edward did seem to break it."

Edward snorted from his place of leaning against the wall. His arms were folded neatly across his chest and he threw Carlisle a look. "I didn't mean too, it was instinct, you know that. It was an accident." Edward said and Carlisle nodded his head to say 'yes'.

I was slightly offended that I was just referred too as an _accident_. I was just an accident? An accident that had been waiting to happen for a long time? It could have been anybody, but it just had to be me because of my scent. I was nothing more then just an accident. Is that what the whole family thought of me? A mistake? They didn't want me, they never wanted me. They had just taken me in because of pity because I couldn't survive on my own. Did they even like me? I shifted my position, very uncomfortable at what was happening before me. Jasper looked over at me and shook his head.

"You are not worthless Bella," he whispered to me and I sank down in my seat, feeling the calming waves from Jasper that were rolling over me. Edward looked over at me and frowned before opening his mouth to say something.

I shook my head and bet him to it. "So we just pack up leave?" I asked, trying to ignore the sinking feeling that was entering my every limb. Carlisle nodded slowly. "Well… alright then?"

"Carlisle, we should think this through," Esme said softly. "Is this really what we should do?"

"Esme is there any other way? I am not willing to put you all in danger of getting killed just because of some stupid treaty. I am not going to do that at all. I'm going to protect you all and this is what we have to do." Carlisle stressed and Esme nodded, still having a worried look upon her beautiful face.

Emmett was still pacing while Jasper was sitting on my left side, Rosalie on my right, and Alice on Jasper's other side. Edward was leaning against the wall, Carlisle at the other end of the table and Esme sitting at his side. Alice looked up at everybody and pursed her lips in thought. "Why don't we just go and stay with Tanya in Alaska?" She asked lightly as if it meant nothing to her.

"That would be reasonable." Esme agreed.

I glanced over at Alice, "Tanya…?"

"I'll explain later." She shot back and looked over to the rest of the family.

"I think we should put it to a vote, I'm not sure if we should leave, I'm sure that we could take the werewolves easily." Emmett retorted and Carlisle shot him a warning glance. "Alright then, let's vote." Emmett declared and looked over at Rosalie.

"Emmett," she warned. "I'm not going to put my family's lives in danger. You know that."

"If we leave, we'll just be cowards in their eyes." Emmett stressed and I looked up at him. He was right, the werewolves would have won if we just packed up and left. Would it be worth it? I would have to leave Charlie and Renée and even Phil for forever. I would have to forget this whole life and just move on to a new one.

"I agree with Emmett," I said finally. "It is not worth it to just leave."

Seven pairs of eyes turned towards me. I looked at every one of my new family members and shrugged before finally, Emmett spoke up. "See! Bella agrees with me because I'm right. There's no point I just moving away because of this treaty!"

"Emmett, you don't understand." Esme finally said. "Bella, I don't think you understand either." She told me and I nodded meekly. I didn't know if I understood what was going on, but I was set on not leaving Forks forever. "If we fight them one of us could get _killed_. Are you sure that you want one of your family members dead?"

I shrank back against my seat and sighed deeply. "No I don't want that." I confessed and Emmett nodded in agreement with me. "But what are we supposed to do? Are we just supposed to leave because of this?"

"It is the right thing to do." Edward said.

Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper all nodded and I looked up to Emmett who also nodded. "Who is Tanya then?" I asked and Alice reached for my hand. She rested her own hand on top of mine and I looked at her, waiting for her to explain.

"Tanya is one of the members in the Denali Coven in Alaska." Alice explained. "Her and her family are the only other coven of vampires that are 'vegetarians'. The other family members are: Eleazar and his companion Carmen, Katrina, and Irina."

"And we would stay with them—until when?" I asked.

Carlisle shrugged. "Probably forever, I don't think that we will ever be welcomed back here."

I stood up, jerking my hand away from Alice and turned away and out of the room. I walked up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I fell down against my bed and buried my head in the softness of the comforter. Leave forever? First, I learned that I was just a simple mistake and then I learned that I had to leave Charlie, Phil, and Renée _forever_. I would never see them again; I would never see Mike, Lauren, Jessica, or Angela ever again. I had no idea how long I was sitting there, probably for over half an hour until I finally heard footsteps stopping at my door. I knew that the rest of the family was probably packing to leave already. They were not going to waste any time.

"Bella?" I knew that voice and I lifted my head to meet Jasper's gaze. "Are you alright?"

I looked at him and then looked down at the ground, I shook my head fiercely and Jasper sat down in the rocking chair as I starred at the ground. He was waiting for my answer. "I'm worthless, I was just a mistake." I said quietly as my body was wracked with sobs. "Edward told us all straight out that I was just a mistake so you needn't deny it. I am worthless and you guys probably don't even care what happens to me." I decided and Jasper stood up before wrapping an arm around me tightly and pulling me towards him. I buried my head in his chest and cried, tearlessly.

"You are not worthless Bella and you know that we all love you. You are not a mistake and you shouldn't make yourself believe that. You know that Edward didn't mean that, he really cares about you Bella." Jasper stated and I shook my head 'no'. "What do you mean no? He really does care a lot about you Bella."

"Then why am I 'just an accident'?"

"He didn't mean it," Jasper said. "It was a slip of the tongue."

"I knew I should have expected this, I mean I am nothing. I have been nothing all my life. I'm just a clumsy girl who didn't do anything right and then I got bitten by a vampire _by mistake_ and somehow found myself in this family. But I know you guys don't really want me, you're just doing this to be nice and everything, it's _okay_ Jasper, I understand." I shrugged and tried to suppress my sobs. "You guys should just leave me here to die."

"No! Don't ever say that." I turned my head to a new voice and realized that it was Edward who was talking. Jasper smiled and pressed a kiss to my forehead before standing up and leaving the room. I starred straight at Edward and before I knew it, Edward had take Jasper's place. "You should never say things like that Bella, we all love you. You have to realize that."

I bit down on my bottom lip. "But you said…?"

"I didn't mean it, I don't regret biting you. I am so glad that I did because I found the best friend that I have ever had. My God, you know how much fun we have together; I would not change that for the world." Edward said soothingly and let me rest my head on his chest. My sobs had become distant and I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Is that what you were so upset about?" He asked quietly and I nodded.

"That and the fact that I'll never see Charlie or Renée again." I finally admitted. "It's going to be hard not seeing my parents around for awhile. But I will definitely get used to the fact that Esme and Carlisle will be like my parents."

Edward nodded and ran his fingers through my hair. "We're going to leave soon."

"I have to pack?" I questioned and Edward smiled before nodding.

"You want some help?" Edward asked and I nodded before pulling away from him reluctantly and looking around for some bags. I only found my old duffel bag that was already packed—since I hadn't unpacked it from my first days in the Cullen household. I looked at Edward and shrugged. "I forgot to ask Alice to take you shopping."

"Oh! Please don't." I pleaded and Edward laughed before grabbing my hand lightly and grabbing my duffel bag. "Do we need to bring the furniture?" I asked clueless to the concept of moving for a vampire and Edward chuckled again.

"We don't need the furniture; we'll get new furniture when we're in Alaska." Edward explained and pulled me down the stairs where all the others were. I starred in awe because they had all packed faster then I had.

"You contacted Tanya, is that correct?" Edward asked Carlisle and he nodded.

"She knows that we are coming and she accepts what has happened. She is excited to meet Bella for the first time." Carlisle said and everybody's attention was turned towards me. I smiled embarrassed and looked over at Edward and then at Esme who was looking around the room with much interest.

"We're all here?" Esme asked and scanned the room with her eyes.

"I think so." Alice said quickly and sent me a short-lived smile. She walked gracefully over to me and hugged me from the side. She looked down at my wardrobe and smiled. "When we get to Alaska Bella, darling, we are definitely going shopping."

"No thanks," I squeaked. "I'm fine with my regular wardrobe."

Alice pouted. "But Bella, it'll be fun."

"Girls, girls. Calm down." Carlisle said with a smile. "You will have much more time to argue when we get to Alaska. Is everybody ready?"

We all nodded before we each grabbed a couple of bags and placed them into the cars. We were going to take all five cars. Carlisle was driving his car with Esme, Alice was taking Rosalie's convertible with Jasper, Rosalie was taking Edward's Aston Martin V12 Vanquish that he only used for 'special occasions', Emmett was taking his jeep, and I was riding along with Edward in his Volvo. We all said our quick good-byes before climbing into the cars. Carlisle took the lead as Edward decided that we would go at the back. He had told me that he knew the way very well. I glanced around Forks before we exited it for good. I sucked in a breath of air—although it wasn't necessary—and felt a rush of anxiousness wash over me.

I knew I wasn't going to come back here anytime soon.

* * *

Time passed slowly, although pass it did. I was sure that I was going to be bored stiff in the car for that long period of time, but I was wrong. Edward kept my 'awake' with talking to me non-stop and asking me all kinds of questions that were related to the game Truth. We even had a few good laughs. When we finally arrived in Denali, Alaska, I was so surprised that it kind of looked like Forks. It was beautiful and breath-taking and it was nothing like I had expected it to be. It was colder then Forks, but I had expected that. When we drove through the different towns, I was too awe-struck to even say anything to Edward, but I think he understood my amazement. It was beautiful in Alaska. It was dark like Forks and now I understood why Tanya, Katrina, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazar all lived here like I did about the Cullen family living in Forks. When we _finally_ pulled up to the house, it was just as breath-taking as entering Alaska for the first time. Edward stopped the car and I noticed that all the other cars were already there. Edward was out of the car in a flash and was already opening the door for me. Suddenly, I was anxious.

"Don't worry Bella," Edward said with a smile. "They're going to love you."

I nodded speechless. We walked towards the house and Edward pushed open the door. I examined the room and saw that my whole family was already there with the exception of five new people. The first one I looked at was around Carlisle's and Esme's age and ran over towards me and hugged me tightly. My eyes widened at the sudden movement and I might have fallen over if she hadn't been hugging me so tightly.

"You must be Bella!" She said sweetly and smiled before releasing me and grabbing me by the arm. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Tanya." She walked me around the room where I saw two more girls that were Irina and Katrina or Kate and one guy, Eleazar with a girl sitting on his lap, Carmen. They were all so beautiful and I wondered if I lived up to them. Tanya seemed to think so.

Later, after all the introductions, I was sitting in my new 'room' that I was going to have all to myself since I had no companion or anything. I grabbed a journal that I hadn't written in for what seemed like forever. I grabbed the book and flipped through it, laughing at how weird I had sounded when I was younger. I wanted to cry at the memories I wrote about my mother, Renée and about my father, Charlie also. It took up my time—reading about my childhood memories and made me forget about never seeing them again. I put down the journal just as Edward entered the room.

"You want to go somewhere with me tonight?" Edward questioned.

I looked up at him and shrugged. "I don't see why not." I smiled with him as he grabbed my hand and led my downstairs. We exited the house with a quick good-bye to Tanya, Carlisle, and Esme who were still around in the kitchen. Edward and I passed the car and I shot him a confused look.

"We'll walk there," Edward confirmed and I nodded. We were just walking there at a human pace and I enjoyed every single second of it. I was grateful for every moment I could spend with Edward. "So, how do you like it here?" Edward asked and I smiled cheekily.

"I love it here, although I think I do like Forks a little better." I confessed and Edward nodded.

"It'll take a little while to get used too, but I think that you'll like it here much better then you'll like Forks." Edward decided and I nodded as he tugged me along through the green trees. After what seemed like forever, we finally emerged from the thick bushes and I gaped at the beauty of the pink sky. We were at the shore of a lake at the perfect time of the sunset, although the sun was not shining through the thick clouds. Edward sat down on a soft piece of sand and I sat down besides him.

"It's beautiful," I breathed and Edward smiled.

"I'm glad; this is kind of like the meadow back home…but different." Edward explained and I nodded happily. The meadow had been beautiful just as this place was. "You like the family?" Edward asked out of the blue and I nodded.

"I like Tanya the most, she's so friendly." I admitted and Edward grinned, his regular crooked grin that I loved so much. I almost melted, if I hadn't caught myself. _We're just friends_, I reminded myself. "Irina and Kate don't seem too bad either. Carmen, I'm not sure…but Eleazar also seemed very nice."

"Don't tell Rosalie, but I think Carmen and her are kind of the same." Edward confided.

I laughed out loud. "You have it all wrong Edward; Rosalie is very nice although if I had to say so myself, Carmen reminds me of Rosalie the first days after I was changed." I teased and Edward nodded.

"You know, we're going to be enrolled in the high school around here, right?"

"I know," I said quickly and smiled. "But at least we'll be together."

"True," he agreed.

We sat in a comfortable silence as I starred up at the sky. I was so glad that Edward had taken me here; I was so glad that I was in his company. I was so glad for so many things at that moment that I could barely contain myself. I tore my gaze off of the sky and looked over at Edward who was starring at me intently. "What?" I asked quietly and Edward smiled.

"What are you thinking?" He questioned.

"I dunno," I lied quickly. "I'm just thinking about how beautiful the sky is. Why?"

"I was just wondering," he answered, never taking his gaze off of me. I would have blushed if I was still able too. "Is it my turn to ask the question, or is it your turn?" He asked and I shrugged again. "I think that it's your turn Bella." He said and I nodded, placing a finger to my lips—thoughtfully.

"Is it annoying having to hear everybody's thoughts?" I questioned.

"Not really," he answered quickly. "I got used to the fact that I have to hear everybody's thoughts—well except yours of course—and I found out a way to ignore most of them. Now it's just a usual thing that I had to go through now. It's definitely not as annoying as you might think." He flashed me a smile and I smiled back at him.

"Hmmm. What are you thinking right at this moment?" I asked after a couple of seconds of silence.

Edward shifted awkwardly, his gaze still on me. "That's two questions Bella."

"Yeah, but you do it all the time, so why I can't I do it for once?" I asked innocently and Edward rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

He shifted again and suddenly he looked kind of uncomfortable. "I'm actually having a debate inside my mind." He admitted and I cocked my head to the side, looking at him perplexed. He pursed his lips in thought and sighed. "I'm just thinking something over and it's just a confusing thing to be thinking about."

"That made no sense." I blurted out and Edward frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm thinking of doing something, but I'm afraid of how the other person is going to react," he confessed and finally tore his gaze from me and turned back to the lake and the sky. I looked out also.

"Edward Cullen is actually scared?" I mocked.

"It's complicated Bella," he stressed.

"Well, I don't think that you should care what the other person thinks and you should just do whatever you want. If you really want to do something, who cares what other people think about it?" I asked and Edward nodded I turned my eyes off of the sky and towards Edward. He smiled at me slightly and I smiled back at him, I was glad for our friendship, I was glad for everything he had ever done with me and just at that moment, I was so glad to be there with him.

I didn't even notice him leaning towards me until I felt his cool lips against my own.

**End of Chapter 5: These Are the Nights**

* * *

**Authors Note: Hello everybody! An early update has come upon you! Seven pages once again and I would like to thank my editor very much! RedTail'sGirl, thank you so much for editing! I am pretty bad at doing my own grammar and spellings and stuff so thank you so much! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thanks for all the reviews! No more foreshadowing! Next chapter will be up on Friday!**

_Questions, questions:_

_1. Do you like this story?_

_2. Anything that you would like to point out to me (mistakes, suggestions…etc)?_

**Okay, well I would love feedback!**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Nineteen Stars

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything…except for Devon Sanders._

* * *

**Chapter 6: Nineteen Stars**

"You're wrong." I stated simply.

He narrowed his topaz eyes playfully and looked down at our intertwined fingers and then back up at me. I was glad for the sunless day so that we could go outside. I bit my bottom lip tentatively as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my temple. "I am never wrong Bella, you shouldn't be so confident." Edward breathed against my skin and I rolled my eyes. Normally, I would have melted at this comment, but I was so used to his cockiness that it was just a usual thing for me.

"_You_ shouldn't be so confident." I countered as he pulled me closer to him, wrapping an arm protectively around my waist. "I'm not the one who said that they could run the fastest out of all of us."

"Yes, but it's true." He protested.

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly at him and wrapped my arm around his waist. "Mhm, you are just so full of yourself, aren't you?" I asked and he looked up towards the sky innocently. "Knew it," I muttered underneath my breath—knowing that Edward heard me.

"School starts tomorrow," he said, deciding to change the subject. "Are you excited?"

"No," I moaned and pressed my head against his shoulder as his arm instantly tightened around my waist. "I don't want to go to school, school is _so_ boring." I groaned and buried my face into the safety of Edwards' shoulder.

"But it's good for you Bella!" Edward protested.

"Thanks _Dad_, I always knew that school was good for me." I commented dryly and Edward sighed loudly—the feelings of my sarcasm sinking in.

Edward pulled away from me and proceeded to pull me to my feet. I groaned as he only smiled and pulled me back towards the house. Over the last week, we had become an official couple since the night at the lake. It had been exactly as I pictured it, utterly perfect. I was so amazed and delighted by everything that had been happening since Edward kissed me, that I couldn't believe I lived seventeen years of my life without him and the rest of the Cullen family. It was weird how things happened, but at the moment when Edward took me to the lake—I knew that I was in love with him. I was told a little later, that he was in love with me also. We had decided to take things 'slow' and just figure each other out before we did anything drastic like get married like Carlisle and Esme or Alice and Jasper or Rosalie and Emmett (who were going to go and get married another time that month for Tanya, Irina, Kate, Eleazar, and Carmen). We were far from marriage.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward questioned finally as the house came into view.

I shrugged instinctively. "Nothing really, I'm just thinking about the things that have been happening this week. Do you think that going to school is going to change…anything?" I asked and Edward knew what I meant by 'anything'. He shook his head and pulled me close to him, kissing me once.

"Nothing's going to change Bella," he stated and pulled me into the house. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of doubt—there were probably so many pretty girls at the school that we were going to attend, why would Edward need me? I hated feeling so self-conscious but it was like a second nature. It was something that I had gotten used to in my previous human life and it wasn't something I could shake just because my life had changed dramatically.

I glanced over at him and frowned slightly. "You can never tell something's change too quickly."

"You think too much." He decided.

"No! I just think things through thoroughly." I argued playfully as we entered the family room where Tanya, Alice, Rosalie, and Esme were sitting. I looked around the room and smiled at them. "What are you guys doing?" I asked informally. I had gotten used to referring to Tanya as a 'third mom', Esme being my second and Renée being my first. Alice was basically my best friend besides Edward. Rosalie was becoming more of my friend and older sister then she had been before. I was grateful for that thoroughly. Edward released my hand, pressing a kiss to my cheek before walking out of the room. Before I had time to protest, Alice spoke up.

"Bella, we're going shopping." She stated clearly and I looked at her puzzled for a moment. What did them going shopping have anything to do with me? "You're coming with us." She added matter-of-factly. Oh. Wait—what?

"Oh, um, well you see I don't really go shopping. W—why would we need to go shopping Alice? There's nothing to shop for. I mean seriously out here there probably isn't that much to go shopping for and why would we want to waste our time just shopping?" I knew I was rambling, but I had to do anything I could to cancel my 'shopping' trip with Alice, Rosalie, Esme, and Tanya. "It would be pointless." I panicked, I had nothing else to really say, all my words had already been spoken.

"There are plenty of good malls around here." Tanya said finally after the awkward silence that had followed my pointless babble. "I'm sure that you girls could find something that would fit your taste." Oh dear, they were teaming against me. I would have to go shopping—dread shot though my body as the word repeated in my mind.

I didn't return to Earth until Alice finally spoke. "Bella," Alice stressed and stood up, taking my hand in hers. "We're going and that's final."

"We?" I muttered my question meekly.

Rosalie stood up and smiled a weak smile. She probably knew how much I hated shopping. "Alice, you, and me." Rosalie said and she waved to Tanya and Esme before walking towards the door. Oh my God! Edward had set this up, this was all Edwards' fault…when I talked to him next time, he was really going to get it! I thought over my plans as Alice dragged me out of the house.

As soon as we arrived at one of the malls, I was surprised at how much it looked like a mall in Washington. I was even more surprised to see more people there that were around my age. The first store that we stepped into, we were bombarded by two salespeople asking if we needed help at the same time. Alice refused them politely and I was glad, I could never really handle the people that were 'supposed' to help you. They just seemed a little bit annoying to me and that was one of the reasons why I didn't really like shopping in general. At the store, Alice and Rosalie found me multiple things to wear that they said I could wear the next day to school. After buying the things—that I didn't try on, but Alice insisted that they would fit—we decided to go to a different place. Or more like Alice and Rosalie decided that we should go to another place, despite my multiple protests to how we should just be glad about what we had found. I was still amazed at how many people were there that were around my age, and I even predicted that some of them would probably be in my school tomorrow morning. At about our third store, I was pretty sure I was going to die so I told Alice and Rosalie that they could pick _whatever_ they wanted out why I stood outside the store. I leaned on the railing and over-looked the people rushing around on the bottom floor.

"Hey," a voice carried over my way and it wasn't until the person gently touched my shoulder that I realized that they were talking to me. I turned towards the person and was greeted by a slender guy, the same age as me that was 'Mike' good-looking. Not 'Edward' good-looking, but 'Mike' good-looking. "I'm Devon Sanders, are you from around here?"

I nodded cautiously. "Bella Swan," I said automatically.

"Nice to meet you Bella," he said politely and leaned against the railing next to me. "What school do you go too?"

"Denali PEAK, I think." I said awkward and he nodded. "I'm not quite sure though, I just moved here a week ago." I explained and he nodded again. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Rosalie and Alice were both nowhere in sight. Who was supposed to save me from talking to this guy? Definitely not Edward, he wasn't even in the general area.

"That's cool; I go to Tri-Valley. It's near Denali PEAK, but it's not the same school." He looked over at me and smiled slightly.

"That's nice."

We stood there in the uncomfortable silence that followed after my lame comment. Not that I cared or anything, I would rather just avoid all conversation with strangers—also known as Devon Sanders who suddenly resembled Mike Newton in my mind—and just stick with my new family that I was destined to be with for the rest of time. I had gotten pretty pessimistic about people who _weren't_ my family, what was the point of being friends with them if they weren't going to always be there. That was probably the reason why all the Cullen's avoided everybody at Forks High School.

"So," he said awkward and lifted his head and turned his gaze to me.

I smiled weakly at him and pushed off from the railing. "So, I guess that I won't be seeing you around." He nodded and moved away from the railing also. "It was nice talking to you Devon."

"You too Bella," Devon replied sweetly and I moved away from him and towards the store. Anything was better then having to talk—or more like stand in an awkward silence for long periods of times—to Devon Sanders. I walked through the open entrance to the store and soon found Alice and Rosalie at the cash register. I could have sworn I heard Devon say: "It won't be long before I see you again." But I was pretty sure that I was hearing things.

* * *

Edward was standing on the porch to greet us when we got home. "How was shopping?" He whispered into my ear after I had collapsed into his arms.

"Never ever make me do that again." I muttered into his shirt.

"Oh please!" Alice called from the background as I snuggled into Edward's embrace and Edward wrapped his arms around me protectively. "It definitely wasn't as bad as she makes it seem Edward," she said walking over to us so that I could hear her voice getting closer and closer by the minute. "She's just a little melodramatic if you catch my drift."

At that, I pulled my head from Edward's and turned around towards Alice who was smirking showing that she was contently pleased with herself and it was then that I knew she was teasing. "You're so mean!" I stressed playfully and turned around to walk into the house.

"How was your shopping trip dear?" Esme asked as I walked through the door.

I sighed drastically and sat down on the couch across from her. "I hate shopping. Does that mean anything to you?" I asked good-naturedly although it might have sounded impolite to bystanders.

Esme laughed. "Yes I know that, Edward told me about your fear of shopping."

"It's not a fear!" I complained. "It's just I've never really been into shopping before. I didn't even really go shopping before that trip that Alice and Rosalie took me on." Esme nodded her head thoughtfully and looked down to her lap where a book had been lying open. "Anyways, what's been going on around here?"

"Nothing really, well nothing exciting to say the least." Esme smiled.

I smiled back at her. "Well, I guess I better let Alice pick out my outfit for tomorrow." I said and stood up. "I'll talk to you later tonight, I guess." She nodded and turned back to her book although she didn't seem particularly interested in it. I should have taken better notice at how she was really looking at me out of the corner of her eye instead of looking down at the book. At that moment, I didn't notice it at all. Alice, Edward, and Rosalie entered the house, Alice holding all of the bags. She smiled brightly at me and pulled me upstairs. She dragged me to my room and let me sit down on the bed as she set the bags down.

"You have to wear something that is _not_ anything like what you're wearing today." Alice said and tapped a finger thoughtfully on her perfect lips. I looked down at my attire and sighed, jeans and a t-shirt was a bad thing? Alice pulled out a long white flowing skirt that went to my knees and a pink knit sweater. "Perfect," she purred.

"I hate it." I said bluntly and Alice frowned deeply. "It's just not me Alice." I said trying to smooth things over.

"But it's perfect Bella! Please just wear it for tomorrow and then you'll never have to wear it again." Alice pleaded and I bit the inside of my cheek, thinking it over. It was one day and then I could change out of it the second I got home. It wouldn't be that bad actually; she was really cutting me a deal. I nodded and she threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much Bella! You'll let me do your hair also, won't you?"

I arched an eye-brow at her. "Um, well…I guess I can let you do that."

There was no way I was going to let her down since she was pretty much my best friend slash sister. She kissed my cheek and pulled me up off of my bed. "Thanks again Bella, you're going to look amazing—not that you don't already look amazing. Tonight, we're going to play baseball," she smiled secretively, "it's supposed to rain."

"Really now?" I questioned playfully and she nodded. "Is it supposed to thunder also?"

"Oh yes! Thunder and lightning are supposed to go along with the rain tonight. We were thinking that we would play against Tanya and her family. I'm not quite sure if Carmen is going to play, but it's going to be fun!" Alice said happily as we walked down the stairs. "You're going to play right?"

"No way," I said disgusted slightly. "I am not good at sports _at all_."

"That's too bad to hear," a new voice greeted us and we turned around. We had been standing idly at the bottom of the stairs and hadn't noticed that there was somebody else listening. Eleazar smiled slightly at us. "It would be fun for everybody to play."

"But Eleazar, then we'd have _very_ uneven teams." Alice countered and Eleazar shrugged.

"I say it would still be fun." He said and waved slightly before walking away.

Alice sighed and leaned against the banister. She brought a hand to her face and wiped her dry eyes before closing them and massaging her temple. I looked at her strangely and then looked around. "Is there something wrong Alice?" I questioned quite concerned and her eyes snapped open.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong Bella." Alice said quickly and grabbed my arm. "We should find Edward."

"Edward, why?" I asked.

Alice looked at me like the fact should be obvious. I blinked and tilted my head slightly to the side. "To go and play baseball? Then we'll go and round up the rest of the family. I wish Eleazar hadn't left so quickly, he could have helped us round up everybody." Her voice was on the edge of _something_, but I wasn't quite sure what it was. I didn't take any note of it as she led me throughout the house.

Soon, we were leaving for the right place to play the baseball. Tanya told us that she had found the most _perfect_ place and soon we were heading off towards it. When we got there, Esme and I sat out again while Rosalie sat out also to make the teams fair. It didn't bother her of course, she had already told us that she had gotten her nails down and she didn't want to ruin them _again_ for this sport. We sat down on some rocks there were near the field that they were playing in and soon, Esme was being the referee once again.

"You have to admit," Rosalie commented suddenly. "They do get kind of competitive when it comes to this _game_." I looked over at her and she had a smile tugging at her beautiful lips.

"They?"

"I guess I meant _we _as in the whole family." Rosalie said and glanced over at me before looking back towards the field. "We all kind of get competitive during this game. Even Carmen is getting competitive! Look Bella!" Rosalie commanded and I turned my head at the game where Carmen and everybody else were arguing while Esme stood in the middle separating the two teams from each other. Rosalie and I laughed together as we watched and commented during the rest of the game. It ended up that both teams were tied when the thunder and lightning storm ended and it would have to be made up later.

* * *

"I wasn't expecting to see you here." I looked up to the new voice and bit down on my bottom lip. There in front of me stood Devon Sanders. My mind had been flashing back to the baseball game last night that had taken place during the thunder and lightning storm that I hadn't even noticed Devon walking into the room. We were in school now and I knew that I had lied, we weren't at Denali PEAK, we were at Tri-Valley. When Edward had told me that in the morning, nothing had really pieced together. I didn't put two and two together simply, I had totally forgotten about Devon. He sat down next to me and I mentally cursed that I was separated from the rest of my family _and_ Edward. This was the only class that I had by myself. I cursed that I had been forced to wear the outfit that Alice had picked out also.

"I know," I replied lamely and Devon smiled slightly.

"You said that you were going to Denali PEAK, Bella." He said lightly and placed his hands in front of him before intertwining them. "But then again, I'm glad that I get to see you again. You confused me the last time we met. You're with the Cullen and Hale family, right?"

"Yep," I answered and twirled a piece of my brown hair around my pointer finger. "How'd you know that?" I questioned and tilted my head to the side slightly.

He looked into my topaz colored eyes and I saw a smile tugging at his lips. I shuddered in my mind. "I don't know, you just look a lot like all of them. I just put two and two together,"—I should have down that before I came to school—"and I figured that you probably came with them. Are they your siblings?"

"Well…Alice Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Emmett Cullen, and Jasper Hale are kind of like my siblings but we're not related. Edward Cullen is my _boyfriend_ actually." I said quickly and Devon nodded, not hiding the fact that there was frown on his face. There was definitely something wrong with this boy. Why was he talking to me so much? He was so much like Mike that it scared me! What if they were cousins? That was a scary thought.

"That's interesting…" Devon said distantly and turned to look straight forward as the teacher, Mr. Morris entered the room.

I was glad that Devon had stopped talking to me. It was something that relieved me greatly. I was pretty sure that he would start asking some deep questions that I didn't even want to get involved with. Devon was exactly like Mike, I guess I couldn't escape him even if I lived in a completely different state. I sighed and twirled the piece of hair around my finger again and again until the period was finally over. Devon kept talking to me until we were outside of the classroom and I told him that I would be late to my next class—that thankfully—he wasn't in. Edward was there in the room to greet me when I entered. I slid into the seat next to his and tried to smile.

"How was your first class?" He asked and very gently took my hand in his.

"Horrible, this guy kept talking to me throughout the whole class." I retorted and Edward nodded, before flipping over my hand and tracing soft circles on my palm. "What are you doing?" I questioned him fiercely and he laughed.

"I'm bored, this interests me." Edward replied and started to draw imaginary figures out on my palm. He lowered his voice before speaking to me again although I knew that no _humans_ could understand what we were saying since we were talking so fast. "I heard what that guy was thinking Bella, he's just like _Mike_."

"That's exactly what I thought!" I shouted, a little too loud for my own good. I shrank back into my seat and turned to Edward. "He reminds me so much of Mike."

"He thinks like Mike also." He stated simply.

I looked at him trying to meet his gaze, but he was starring intently on the figures that he was drawing onto my palm. "And what is that supposed to mean?" I questioned him and he looked up briefly before looking back down.

"Nothing really, it shouldn't concern you. Your ego might grow if I tell you what he's thinking." He smirked before I pulled my hand away and hit him on his upper arm playfully.

"My ego? You're the one who has a big ego!" I teased and he rolled his eyes good-naturedly before grabbing my hand again and sort-of intertwining our fingers. The teacher walked into the room before he could say anything more. The whole class went by faster then I expected, of course Edward was there with me and it interested me greatly at what he was doing. He kept repeating the different shapes with ten minute intervals. He would occasionally look over at me and I would roll my eyes at him before he would lower his head back down and repeat the different figure. I tried to keep track of the figures once, but it was too hard and soon I gave up. It wasn't long before the bell rang and we were up from our seats.

The next couple of classes I had before lunch were with Alice and Edward occasionally. I was disappointed that I couldn't have any classes with Rosalie, Jasper, or Emmett since they were a 'year older' then us. Alice dragged me through the cafeteria when lunch came and I was grateful when my eyes landed on Rosalie's familiar form. She waved us over and we all sat together. Edward pulled me towards him and wrapped an arm around my waist. He pressed a kiss to my temple and I smiled at him before I let my eyes wander around the cafeteria. Devon was looking straight at our table and he turned and said something to his friends before returning his gaze to me. I shivered and looked over at Edward who was semi-glaring at Devon.

"What's he thinking?" I breathed and Edward shook his head.

"It's not important." He replied.

* * *

We arrived home later in the afternoon and I changed out of the loose skirt and sweater and back into my regular attire of jeans and a t-shirt. Afterwards, I grabbed a book before walking towards my door. I was walking down the stairs when it happened. The voices were familiar and I knew that it was Edward and Alice who were talking in the hushed murmurs. I leaned against the wall gently and tried to listen very carefully to the conversation that was unfolding in front of me.

"We have to tell her Edward," Alice stressed. "It's _her_ parents."

"We'll do this by ourselves, I don't want her to get into any kind of danger, and it would definitely be dangerous to tell her what happened." Edward replied and I looked away from the place I had been starring at to gather my thoughts. "Alice, you can't breath a word of this to anybody _especially_ Bella."

"Edward, you're being ridiculous. Bella deserves to know and you're just being selfish. If she finds out from somebody else, do you know how that will end? She could get in more danger that way. We'll just have to trust that nothing will happen to them while we make up a plan of what to do." Alice snapped quickly and I gasped. _Parents plus Bella equals…_my parents! Something had happened to my parents and they weren't telling me anything about it.

**End of Chapter 6: Nineteen Stars**

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**Authors Note: So it's seven pages again and I just want to say how sorry I am about how late this chapter is! I have been very busy with final projects—although it is no excuse or anything—and I haven't found that much time for writing right now. I will try my best to update every **_**Friday**_**, but I don't know if I will always meet the deadline until school is finally over! Fourteen days left until school is over, so it won't be long until I can finish this story. I am so sorry about this, I just have so many stupid exams and projects, that I am dying and I find it hard to write when I have to meet a deadline for school. You understand, right?**

**THANKS **_**SO MUCH**_** FOR ALL THE REVIEWS! I AM SO GRATEFUL!**

**Also, I am so sorry about the really bad chapter, I was on a brain freeze for basically the whole week and this is just a filler chapter for right now. Next chapter will be more intense. I think that there will only be eight to nine chapters and that will be the full story. Isn't that sad? Only like three more chapters left until the end! (Or four if I do nine chapters).**

Facts for the remainder of the story:

1. Devon Sanders is not an important part of the story. This is the _only_ chapter he will be in. He might be mentioned, but he will not be making anymore appearances.

2. Bella is going back to Forks.

3. I was going to put Laurent back into the story, but now I'm not quite sure. He might just be in the sequel if I make a sequel to it…which I probably won't, but I'm not quite sure yet.

**That's all for the facts! Sorry about the long authors note.**

_Questions, questions:_

_1. Did you absolutely hate this chapter? (I will understand if you did!)_

_2. Any mistakes that you would like to point out? (I won't be mad if you point out something, I will be grateful at the least!)_

_3. Any ideas for the next chapter or the rest of story that you would like to tell me? (I will be so happy and grateful if you have any ideas! I love it when people give me input to the story! I am kind of at a lost for the remainder…but I just know that Jacob is returning soon!)_

_4. Anything else you would like to tell me?_

**That's it!**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Edward's Interlude

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything…except for Devon Sanders._

* * *

**Chapter 7: Edward's Interlude**

"You're wrong," she stated simply.

I narrowed my eyes playfully and pulled her closer to me. I looked at our intertwined fingers and then back up to her face. I smiled crookedly and pressed a kiss to her temple. The thoughts were roaring in my head, but I knew that I had to pay close attention only to Bella, which was pretty easy. "I'm never wrong Bella, you shouldn't be so confident." I answered against her cool skin that was the same temperature as my own.

"_You_ shouldn't be so confident." She countered playfully as I pulled her even closer to me, wrapping my arm protectively around her small waist. She continued to rant, "_I'm_ not the one who said that they could run the fastest out of all of us."

"Yes, but it is true." I protested.

She rolled my eyes good-naturedly at me. "Mhm, you're just so full of yourself, aren't you?" Bella asked and I looked up towards the sky innocently. So I was full of myself, but she knew that I was just teasing. It had been something that she had asked me during our 'Truth' game. "I knew it," she muttered underneath my breath—knowing that I could hear her. I did and I smiled secretly at the sky.

"School starts tomorrow," I said absently, deciding to change the subject. "Are you excited?"

"No," Bella moaned and pressed her head against my shoulder as my arm instantly tightened around her small waist. "I don't want to go to school, school is so boring." She groaned against my shoulder and buried her head deeper into my shoulder.

"But it's good for you Bella!" I protested again. She threw me a glare and I laughed bitterly at her look. She had always had a way with her sarcasm. She lifted her head lightly off of my shoulder and stared up at me.

"Thanks Dad, I always knew that school was good for me." Bella commented dryly and I sighed loudly—the feelings of her sarcasm sinking into my mind.

_'Edward,'_ Alice's voice rang through my mind. I smiled slightly and looked over at Bella who was still leaning against my and groaning about how much she didn't want to go to school. I looked towards the sky, trying to hear what Alice wanted. _'Bring Bella back to the house, we're going to go shopping, don't tell her anything though, otherwise she will refuse to go and run away. Okay? Come as soon as possible!'_

_'Got it.'_ I sent to Alice. I pulled away from Bella and proceeded to pull her to her feet. She groaned as I smiled and pulled her back towards the house. Over the last past week, we had become even closer than we had been before and I was glad for that. I had always felt connected with Bella in a way that was way more then just friends, but I never knew how she felt because I couldn't tap into her mind. Mostly, that annoyed me to no extent, and I was pretty sure that she just wanted to be friends with me, but that night at the lake changed my mind. We had admitted our feelings to each other and I was so glad that she had felt the same way that I had felt about her. Ever since then, we had spent every moment together and neither of us wanted to be apart from the other. Too bad that for a little bit of this day, Bella would be forced to be away from me.

"Tell me what you're thinking about." I said as the house came into view.

She shrugged. "Nothing really, I'm just thinking about the things that have been happening this week. Do you think that going to school is going to change…anything?" Bella asked and I knew what she had meant by 'anything'. I shook my head quickly and pulled her close to me, kissing her once on the lips. She smiled against my lips and I pulled away from her once more, slowly this time.

"Nothing's going to change Bella," I stated firmly and pulled her into the house. Nothing was going to change with me. I had always loved her and hid it from her, but it was always there. If Bella decided to leave one day, I'd respect her wishes and I would give her the space that she wanted. There were so many guys that would want her, and if she wanted to leave, I wouldn't stop her. I shook my thoughts away and looked back at Bella as I pulled open the door for her.

Bella glanced over at me and frowned. "You can never tell some things change too quickly."

"You think too much." I decided.

"I do not! I just think things through thoroughly." She argued playfully as we entered the family room where Tanya, Alice, Rosalie, and Esme were sitting. I smiled at them and pressed a kiss to Bella's cheek before walking out of the room. I was sure that I could find something to do while they went shopping. I heard Bella open her mouth to say something—in protest so that she wouldn't have to go—but Alice ignored her and went on explaining what they were going to do.

_'Edward, come outside, we're going hunting and you're welcome to come with us.'_ Carlisle's voice entered my mind and I nodded, knowing that they couldn't see me. I walked out the door and towards the group that had gathered outside. Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett, Irina, Kate, Eleazar, and Carmen stood in front of me.

Carlisle stepped forward and smiled. "Let's go." He announced.

* * *

I swung absently on the hammock outside of Tanya's house as I listened to Alice and Rosalie's thoughts. They were pretty much not helping at all, I was wondering what they were doing to Bella, but all they were thinking about was if they could get Bella to get her nails done. It was pretty much impossible to get Bella to get her nails done. She probably would zip out of the mall as soon as possible. She would be home in a couple of minutes if Alice and Rosalie even suggested the idea of it. I was too concentrated on something else that I didn't even realize the new sound in my head until it was speaking. It was then that I heard a different set of thoughts and they were thinking of Bella. I sat up straight in the hammock and normally, a person would fall off the hammock, but being a vampire sometimes paid off on normal things.

_'She's very pretty; I wonder where she comes from. I've never heard of a new family moving to Denali. She said her name was Bella Swan…Bella Swan, where do I know that name from? I don't think that I know that name, but it seems somewhat familiar.'_ He paused in his ranting. _'I wonder if she has a boyfriend, I wonder where she's going to school…I wonder if I am going to see her again.'_

I cringed at his thoughts, of _course_ Bella was beautiful and of _course_ she was amazing and everything. And _yes_, Bella did have a boyfriend and that boyfriend was _me_. I growled at the boys' thoughts as I saw Bella appear in his mind. I growled at the thought of him touching her, but he was replaying the little moment where he had touched her shoulder to get her attention over and over again in his mind. She was mine. I knew that she probably didn't do anything, but the feeling of somebody else touching her made me want to break something. I pursed my lips in thought and told myself to calm down; I would just act like nothing happened at all. I sat there, playing with a piece of nothingness when I heard the car driving towards the house. I pulled myself off of the hammock and bolted towards the porch. I leaned causally against the railing and smiled as I saw Bella get out of the car and sprint towards me.

I smiled at her and caught her easily in my arms. "How was shopping?" I whispered into her ear after she was in the safety of my arms. She muttered something that too fast, that I couldn't even hear her, and then she smiled and pressed her face into my chest.

"Never ever make me do that again." She muttered into my shirt.

"Oh please!" Alice called from the background as Bella snuggled into my embrace. I wrapped my arms around her protectively. "It definitely wasn't as bad as she makes it seem Edward," she said walking over to us. I smiled at her and she rolled her eyes indicating that Bella was just being dramatic as always. She mouthed something to me to say that she needed to talk to me and I nodded. "She's just a little melodramatic if you catch my drift." Alice concluded and I looked over at Rosalie who was bounding out of the car also.

After Alice's comment, Bella pulled her head from me and turned around towards Alice who was smirking showing that she was contently pleased with herself and it was then that Bella knew she was teasing. "You're so mean!" She stressed playfully and turned around to walk into the house. She disappeared into the house and closed the door tightly behind her.

"Something you need?" I asked cautiously as I finally heard Bella and Esme talking. "Show me your vision Alice." I said and she looked up at me, her lips twisted in thought.

"I don't know if it's true." Alice stressed.

Rosalie was by our side in a second. "What is it, what did you see? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," she responded, "I wanted to ask Edward what he thought of it first Rosalie." Alice said and Rosalie nodded before touching my arm lightly and looking at me concerned. I nodded my head towards her and she laced her arm through my own. Alice looked at me and I nodded again, to show her that I was ready for the vision.

It started out that there was just Jacob Black standing in front of Charlie and Renée, talking to them. His lips were moving, but no sounds were heard. Cries tumbled from Renée's lips and Charlie looked at her sadly. Jacob turned around before four other figures entered the room. He looked around and then finally, a fifth figure—alone—walked into the room. It was Bella, she was saying things, pleading with Jacob, but he wouldn't take any of it. I could see that the four other figures were the rest of Jacob's pack. They were all leering close to Charlie and Renée, just in case Bella had planned something and was going to take the bait that they had set up. Bella moved quickly, but she wasn't fast enough. One second she was begging with Jacob, the next she was lunging for her parents. Soon, the whole pack and changed and they attacked Bella. Slowly, they tore her limb from limb before she was finally gone. They changed back slowly, picked up the shredded pieces and burned her slowly. There was a pause before more cries from Renée started as Charlie tried to console her. He was crying as well…

"No." I stated as my eyes burned. "No! That can't happen."

"I never said it would happen Edward," Alice said calmly as Rosalie tapped her fingers soothingly along my arm. "It was just a vision, sometimes my visions are wrong." She concluded and I glared at her.

"What did you see?" Rosalie asked softly.

Alice opened her mouth to say something, but I threw her another fierce look and she knew that she wasn't going to say anything. "It is too horrible to even talk about Rosalie. I am positive that this is not going to happen, even the mutts won't go to that far of length just to screw us over." I said angrily and Alice shook her head, disbelieving me. "They won't Alice," I was pleading with her, and saying it more to myself, "They just won't."

"I can't say Edward." Alice replied curtly.

I clenched my teeth and looked towards her then at Rosalie who was still looking worriedly at me. She kept her fingers clenched around my forearm, just in case I decided to do something. A snarl escaped my lips. "I will not let that happen, that vision will never come true." I heard the conversation come to a cease and I ushered Rosalie and Alice into the house. We entered and Bella was walking over. Alice said a few things to her before pushing her up the stairs while Rosalie and I walked into the family room where everybody was seated already.

"Tell us about the vision." Carlisle stated clearly.

I grimaced. It wasn't something that I really wanted to repeat. I didn't like the idea of me being away from Bella if that was going to be her fate. I looked up the stairs and then back to everybody else in the room. "It was horrible," I said shortly. "Bella was being killed by the mutts. They didn't show her any mercy and I don't understand why we weren't there with her."

"There's more too it, isn't there?" Emmett asked solemnly and I nodded weakly. "It's alright; we won't let this happen to Bella."

"Of course not," Tanya agreed as Esme nodded also.

Carlisle looked at me and I frowned non-discreetly. Carlisle nodded and sighed simply. "We will keep a close eye on Bella and make sure that she hears nothing of this. I know that Alice will try to encourage you to tell her—but it will just give Bella ideas to leave without telling us. She can't handle the werewolves without all of our help."

"She won't be going there at all!" I protested and Esme rested a hand gently on my arm, making sure that I wasn't going to do anything.

_'Calm down Edward, we're all going to make sure that nothing happens to Bella. We're going to make sure that nothing happens to Bella. It'll be alright.'_ Esme sent over to me and I settled back down next to her. She smiled slightly—it was a small, sad smile—before we all decided that it was time to move before Bella came down and thought that something was wrong. We would have no idea how to answer to her question if she asked. I walked out towards the backyard, trying to control my feelings and my thoughts. It was later, that Bella and Alice came to find me—it seemed that there was going to be a thunder and lightning storm and we were 'required' to go and play baseball.

Bella pressed a hand to my cheek and frowned slight. We were just about to leave for the field. "Is there something wrong Edward?" She questioned and I stood there frozen. There was nothing wrong, nothing that I could tell her. I pulled her close to me and kissed her on the nose before capturing her lips.

"Nothing's wrong," I mumbled against her lips.

Once we got to the field, I was separated from Bella once again. She sat at the rocks with Rosalie—who I was thankful for, Rosalie could be there if something did happen—and Esme on the other side of her. We were on even teams and I was grateful for the little distraction that I had while playing the game. My mind was taken off of Bella until the rainstorm stopped and we were forced to stop playing. I wandered back to Bella and lifted her off of the rock and into my arms. She laughed and questioned what I was doing, but she looked so beautiful, that I couldn't let the moment pass. I was afraid that there was only a certain amount of time left.

* * *

_'Bella's here! I wonder if she remembers who I am.'_ It was that annoying guy once more. I suppressed a growl as I looked around my room. I was separated from Bella in the first period class, one of the classes that I didn't have with her. Alice looked over at me and rested her hand against mine, her thoughts flooding me. I only listened to the boy—Devon—thought. _'She looks beautiful in the skirt and sweater. I wonder why she wasn't wearing something like this last time I saw her…wait she said that she was going to go Denali PEAK, why isn't she there? I wonder if I talk to her, she'll remember who I am. Oh well! It's worth a try.'  
_  
"Is something wrong?" Alice mimicked Bella's question that she asked last night. I looked up at her and shook my head. I glared at the clock as I listened to the rest of Devon's thoughts. He was disappointed when Bella told him that I was her boyfriend. I cheered mentally, glad that I had one problem checked off of my 'to-do' list.

"What do you have next?" I asked Alice after class.

Alice sighed and looked down at her nails before replying. "I've got English next period; I'll see you at History, then?" I nodded and she bounced down the hallways. I rolled my eyes good-naturedly at my sister before walking to biology, which I had with Bella. I sat down in the joint table and bit on the inside of my lip, I was anxious to see Bella. Bella entered the room and smiled slightly at me.

"How was your first class?" I asked and very gently I took her hand in mine.

"Horrible, this guy kept talking to me throughout the whole class." Bella retorted and I nodded, before flipping over her hand and tracing soft circles on her palm. I drew a couple of different shapes as she looked on. "What are you doing?" She questioned me fiercely and I just laughed. That was Bella for me.

"I'm bored, this interests me." I replied and started to draw imaginary figures out on her palm. I lowered my voice before speaking to Bella again although I knew that no humans could understand what we were saying since we were talking so fast. "I heard what that guy was thinking Bella, he's just like Mike."

"That's exactly what I thought!" She shouted, a little too loud for her own good. She shrank back into my seat and turned to me. I smiled at her as I drew a rectangle on her palm, before deciding to write something on her palm. "He reminds me so much of Mike."

"He thinks like Mike also." I stated simply.

Bella looked at me trying to meet my gaze, but I was starring intently on the letters that I was writing on her palm. It wasn't like she could keep track of the letters though. "And what is that supposed to mean?" She questioned me and I looked up briefly at her before looking back down.

"Nothing really, it shouldn't concern you. Your ego might grow if I tell you what he's thinking." I smirked before she pulled her hand away and hit me on my upper arm playfully.

"My ego? You're the one who has a big ego!" She teased and I rolled my eyes good-naturedly before grabbing her hand again and sort-of intertwining our fingers. The teacher walked into the room before I could say anything more. The whole class went by faster then I would have thought. I spent the whole class drawing letters onto Bella's palm. I wrote quickly, just to make sure that she wouldn't catch on to what I was doing. A couple of times, I could see that out of the corner of my eye, Bella was trying to keep track. I wrote faster then and then she would sigh and give up. Soon, the bell was ringing and we both stood up quickly, our hands still intertwined.

I was separated from Bella once more, but this time she had class with Alice. Before long, it was lunch and I was sitting down next to Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett like it was back in Forks. Alice came bouncing into the cafeteria, pulling Bella along with her. Rosalie smiled slightly and waved them over to the table. Bella sat down in the chair next to me and I pulled her over to me, wrapping an around her waist. I pressed a kiss to her temple and she smiled before she let her eyes wander around the cafeteria to see who was watching. I could feel her breath hitch in her throat as her eyes met Devon's. I glared at Devon as his thoughts traveled through my mind.

_'Bella deserves somebody so much better then that Edward!'_ Devon thought bitterly to himself. _'She's too perfect for him. I don't get why she wouldn't like me! Erg, I wish she would just see!'_

"What's he thinking?" Bella breathed the question and I shook my head.

"It's not important." I replied simply.

* * *

Bella moved up the stairs when we arrived home and I entered the kitchen with Alice on my trail. "It's gotten worse, there's more to vision and I'm sensing that there is going to be some worse things happening. Now, there is more chance that something is going to happen Edward." Alice confided in me and I looked up towards the ceiling, trying to collect my thoughts.

"We can't tell her still, it's too dangerous. Actually, I don't think we should tell anybody." I concluded and Alice shook her head. I knew that she would want to tell Bella and the rest of the family, but it was too difficult for me to do that. If the vision had gotten worse that meant there was more chance that it was going to happen.

"How can you not tell her Edward? She deserves to know! You don't understand how much she deserves to know, what if something really bad happened to Charlie or Renée. And also, how can we not tell Carlisle or Esme? That is just being irresponsible." Alice questioned fiercely.

"We aren't going to tell her or the rest of the family Alice," I decided firmly. "It'll only result in a bad thing."

"You don't know that! Bella could be totally sensible and you're the one that's jumping to conclusions. You are being _too_ difficult Edward, you're just being selfish! Bella could lose her parents and you are just afraid of losing her…! You know, if we tell Bella, then we can save them if they are really in trouble!" Alice said, her voice shaking with anger, but her face showed no emotion. "Also, why _wouldn't_ we tell Carlisle or Esme? They could help!"

I shook my head sharply. "No Alice, it's too dangerous."

"We have to tell her Edward," Alice stressed. She had given up on telling Carlisle and Esme, but she was still on the idea of telling Bella. "It's _her_ parents."

"We'll do this by ourselves, I don't want her to get into any kind of danger, and it would definitely be dangerous to tell her what happened." I shot back and Alice shook her head at me. "Alice, you can't breath a word of this to anybody _especially_ Bella."

"Edward, you're being ridiculous. Bella deserves to know and you're just being selfish. If she finds out from somebody else, do you know how that will end? She could get in more danger that way. We'll just have to trust that nothing will happen to them while we make up a plan of what to do." Alice snapped quickly. I heard a small gasp and I turned around. I could see Bella peeking out from before the stairs and she walked out into the light when she caught me eye.

"Edward, Alice." She greeted her voice solid. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

**End of Chapter 7: Edward's Interlude**

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**Authors Notes: So it's only six pages this time and I got it up on Friday! Aren't you guys proud of me? I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, although I was not too fond of it myself. Thanks so much for the reviews!**

**6/10/07: Okay, I'm so sorry that I updated again, but I put up the wrong chapter and this is the edited one and thank you so much to **RedTail'sGirl **for editing it and that's all I really wanted to say. I wanted to do a little foreshadowing though. So here is a little update.**

Fact:

1. The vision will come true in some ways.

2. Edward and the rest of the Cullen family will not know of Bella's depart until after she is in Forks. (You will understand that later).

3. Jacob and Bella will become something.

**That's it for now!**

_Questions, questions:_

_1. Did you like Edward's Interlude?_

_2. Any mistakes?_

_3. Any comments that you would like me to know?_

_4. Suggestions for the story?_

_5. Any questions you have for this story or for me?_

**That's it for now! Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Swing Life Away

Burning Candles

Summary: (Set during Twilight) Curious because of Edward's strange behavior towards her, Bella decides on her second day in Forks to confront him and decides to pay him a visit… to his house. She never expected him to attack her though.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Swing Life Away**

* * *

**Bella's POV**

* * *

"Edward, Alice." I greeted them, my voice as solid as I could make it. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

Edward looked at me cautiously as Alice stepped forward slightly. A frown was what held her mouth from saying anything. I inhaled sharply and stared at them even further. Alice opened her mouth and sighed. "Edward did not want to tell you Bella." Alice said and I looked at her strangely. Tell me what? That something was wrong with my parents?

"Alice." Edward warned, but Alice wasn't listening. "Alice—no."

"I had a vision Bella." Alice said quickly. "Jacob and the rest of the wolves have them and they are planning to lure you in and then kill you. We thought that it was better if we didn't tell you so that you wouldn't have to worry about it. Then it probably wouldn't happen if you didn't know of it." Alice explained and I turned my head sharply at Edward to see if what she was saying was true.

"Well?" I questioned him.

Edward looked up at me slightly then looked back down towards the floor. "It's true Bella."

"Tell me more." I demanded firmly.

Alice looked towards Edward, a bit shocked from what I had said. They had probably thought that I did not want to know the details. But I was so angry at them for concealing this, that it didn't even matter anymore. I had the right to know since it concerned me. If it hadn't concerned me, I wouldn't have cared… this much. "Well in my vision, it was of Jacob having your parents—" my parents? Jacob had my parents? This must of happen! Charlie and Renée could be dead already and they're just telling me this now?! "—and they lured you in and then killed you. You were all alone Bella, you couldn't do anything."

"I—I…" I didn't know what to say at all. I was so angry, yet there was a part of me that was glad that they hadn't told me. I tried to calm the other part of me down, but it wasn't working. "I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Alice questioned.

"I have to go and think."

"Bella, I don't—"

I cut her off, "I think that you owe me that much Alice." I said coldly and turned around before walking out the door.

* * *

"What's bothering you?" Esme questioned carefully as I swung my legs back and forth as we sat outside on the stairs together. "I can tell that something's bothering you darling, what is it?"

I shrugged, not really wanting to confide in anyone anymore. "It doesn't really matter."

"Of course it matters!" Esme protested, "something is bothering you. That matters Bella." Esme told me and I shrugged again. Esme sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling me towards her in a hug. I knew that she meant it to be caring, but my attitude had not changed from before when Edward and Alice told me their secret.

"I don't think that…" I trailed off and sighed. "Nothing's the matter Esme, really."

Esme hugged me tighter and laughed softly. "I know that something is wrong Bella, you're too easy to read, remember?" She asked and I nodded sadly.

I had always hated that I was so easy to read when it came to my emotions. It was something that I had wanted to change about myself for forever. "It's just that Edward and Alice told me about Alice's vision and it just annoys me that they didn't tell me about it before. I mean they're my parents! I have the right to know what happened."

"Bella…" Esme trailed off and then it hit me. The whole family had known everybody except me.

"You knew!" I accused.

Esme bowed her head and let her arms drop from around me. "Yes Bella, I did know. But Edward insisted that we shouldn't tell you so that you wouldn't get worked up on something that probably would never happen. He was just—"

"I can't believe it!" I shot up and walked down the steps. "Everybody knew except me. It only concerned me and I was the only one who didn't know." I said grudgingly and Esme nodded slightly. "That's a low blow, I love my parents, I would only want their safety and if they are being kidnapped or torture, I'm not going to stand by and let them be."

"See Bella that was what Edward was worried about! He doesn't want to lose you to an untimely death." Esme tried to explain, but I had already made up my mind. "Please Bella, don't do anything that would put you in harms way."

"I—I…" I had to think quickly, I had to lie Esme and then I would go and check up on my parents. This had to be done and I knew that there would be nobody there to help me. "You're right Esme."

Esme sighed in relief. "I'm glad you've seen Edward's thinking."

"I don't want to do anything stupid," I said loyally and smiled slightly. "I should go and apologize to Alice and Edward about acting that way. I was terribly rude." My lip twitched slightly.

"If that's what you wish." Esme said and smiled. "I knew that you would see their ways Bella, they're just trying to keep you safe."

_Safe_? Is that what they called it now? My parents would not be left there to die in the _werewolves_ paws. I would not allow that. I had to do this and I would just have to pray that Edward and Alice and everybody would understand. "Of course, I know that they're just trying to protect and we don't even know if Alice's vision is true!" I lied as I clenched my teeth.

"That's right," Esme said suspiciously, "what are you thinking Bella?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about explaining my behavior to Edward and Alice." I told her quickly and then thanked her for her help and walked inside the house. I heard voices from the kitchen and I knew that Edward and Alice hadn't moved from their spots. I cleared my throat as I entered the room. "Hi." I uttered softly.

Edward looked at me tentatively. "Hi."

"I just want to apologize for my behavior. I was being over-dramatic and I trust that you guys are just looking out for me. It was stupid for me to think that you guys weren't going to tell me at all." I smiled weakly. "Thanks for looking out for me and don't worry I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm just going to go on with life until we think of a plan…_together_." I finished as I closed my mouth and clenched my teeth harder.

Edward moved forward and placed a kiss to my temple. "Thanks for understand Bella. I know we'll think of something."

_Without me. _The voice inside of me said. Once I left, they were probably going to have to make a plan about how to _save _me. I didn't know if I liked the idea so much, but I would do anything to save my parents from death. "No problem, Charlie always used to say that I was very understanding." I joked lightly and Alice took me into her arms.

"Oh Bella, you're the best." Alice confided. "I knew you would understand."

I nodded. "I'm just going to get something upstairs and then I'll be back." I told them and wiggled out of Alice's tight grip. I made my way upstairs, unaffected that I heard footsteps behind me. I knew that Edward would follow me to make sure I wasn't doing anything. I turned on my heels as I noticed that I had entered 'my room.' "Need something?" I asked.

"Nope, nothing." Edward smiled and advanced towards me, wrapping an arm around my waist tightly. "You're amazing Bella."

I softened at his tone. "I know."

"Oh! And you're the one that calls _me_ cocky?"

I giggled, "because you are!"

"I am not." Edward shot back.

"Are too." I said quickly and leaned forward, pressing my lips gently against Edward's. I pulled back and he groaned. "That's the only way to shut you up." I told him and he smirked.

"Anyways back to the subject," he drawled. "I'm really sorry about not telling you, I was just trying to keep you safe and I don't want to lose you Bella." He said quickly, his words almost mush-ing together. I had never seen this side of Edward. "I don't think I could handle to lose you Bella—"

"I know," I cut him off. "I understand, you don't have to explain anymore."

"I just feel that I have too." Edward complained. "I didn't know that you would be so understanding. It was sort of a shock."

"You know me," I told him. "I am always understanding. I might fight with you sometimes, but we always work it out. Anyways I know that you truly had good intentions about this and of course Edward, _I understand_." I repeated for the hundredth time, or it felt like it.

"I have to go out tonight with the guys, promise me you won't do anything stupid." He pleaded.

"Don't worry Edward," I lied. "I promise I won't do anything stupid."

I leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss before he could say anything else.

* * *

Getting ready wasn't hard at all. Alice had gone out shopping with Carmen. Esme was downstairs in the kitchen with Tanya, Irina, Kate, and Rosalie. I had told them that I just wanted to be alone and they were good at leaving me alone. I grabbed my backpack and stuffed something's that I would need and then grabbed a piece of paper out of one my school notebooks and brushed away my hair from my face. My nerves were eating away at me. Although I knew that this wasn't the right choice, I knew that I couldn't stay here and let my parents die. They might not even be in that state and then I could return here. I was ready to face the consequences when I got back. I grabbed a pencil and wrong.

_Edward,_

_I know that you must hate me now, but if you're reading this note, you know that I'm gone. I've gone to my parents. I lied this afternoon when I said that I was alright with everything. I'm not fine with it and this is for me. I have to do this, nobody can stop me, and it's just something that I have to do. I can't bear with the fact that my parents are in danger. If they're not in danger, I'll come back and I'll deal with the consequences of what I've done. I love Edward, don't forget that. I'll be seeing you._

_Love,_

_Bella_

I knew that I couldn't cry, but if I could have, I would have. Edward meant the world to me, but I also loved my parents. I couldn't let them be in danger because of _me_. I grabbed the keys that I had taken earlier off of the desk in Edward's room and slipped out of the window. I hit the ground with a soft thud and turned towards the cars. I pulled my brown hair up into a ponytail and inhaled sharply as I brushed my bangs to the side. I had to get over this, I just have to go and not look back. It would be easier this way. I unlocked Edward's precious Volvo and slipped into the driver's seat. I would have to go above the speed limit because Alice, Carmen, Eleazar, Edward, Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper were due home anytime soon and I was pretty sure that the group in the kitchen would notice my absence soon. I put my key into the ignition and breathed in deeply before turning the car on. I put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway slowly, careful to not make any noise. I quickly turned the car in the right direction and sped off, I didn't look back. I knew that if I did, I would have crumbled to pieces.

* * *

**Edward's POV**

* * *

I knew that something was wrong.

As soon as I arrived home from hunting, I knew that there was something going crazy inside. Alice's mind was racing and she was wondering how this could have happened. I pushed open the door and tried to search Esme or Rosalie's mind, but they were keeping it blank, they didn't want me to know. Alice was going crazy and couldn't control her thoughts, although they didn't help me that much. Alice ran to me and grabbed both of my arms tightly.

"It's terrible Edward," she muttered quickly. "Bella's gone."

I looked at her sternly. Was she serious? Was Bella really gone? "That's not possible." I told Alice fiercely and she nodded her head. "Bella can't be gone, where would she go?"

"She's gone back to Forks Edward, I knew this was going to happen…I—" She closed her eyes and I looked into her mind. I knew that she was going to have a vision about Bella. I knew it, I could feel the fury building up inside me. How could Bella do this to me? She had _promised_ that she wouldn't go, but she had broken it.

I was right; Alice's vision was of Bella.

Bella was running quickly through the Forks forest and she was going towards her old house. She burst through the door and checked all around, wondering where her parents were. She was searching everyplace the werewolves would think of and then shrugged before walking out. She was stopped by Jacob Black, the werewolf himself. They were bantering back and forth and finally Jacob revealed that he had Bella's parents. She looked at her parents who had been tied up and then back at Jacob. She argued with him and then agreed to something that was unknown. The vision shut off quickly.

"This can't be right." I told Alice, "she wouldn't!"

Alice shook her head and gripped my arms tighter. "Edward, Bella would do something like this. If we don't hurry up and go after her, she will definitely be dead by tomorrow at the latest. _We have to go_." Alice told me fiercely and I nodded, running into the kitchen where everybody else was huddled.

"Bella…" I croaked and they nodded.

"We'll follow you," Carlisle told me and I agreed before grabbing the car keys of Alice's car and grabbing Alice. She pointed to my room calmly and then I nodded before running up. I looked at my desk and a letter was there with my name written on it in Bella's handwriting. I opened it and scanned it before stuffing it in my pocket and running back downstairs to grab Alice. She came willingly as we jumped into her car. The rest of the family was getting ready to leave as well. I noticed oddly that my car was gone, Bella must have taken it.

I didn't know I was shaking until Alice gripped my arm once we were on the highway. "She'll be alright Edward."

"You don't know that," I told Alice coldly.

**End of Chapter 8: Swing Life Away**

* * *

**Authors Note: I am completely sorry about the whole wait! I can't believe that I made you guys wait so long and I am truly sorry for doing that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and it wasn't too confusing, I'm not expecting many people to be reading this anymore, but thanks so much for all the support you have given me. Next chapter will be up next week, I promise!**

**I read 300 pages of Eclipse and it almost made me cry. I'm going to put anything else because I don't want anybody to yell at me for spoiling anything. So I'll post something when I know everybody has read it. Like a year from now. xD**

**Review please!**


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